News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Sponsored Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
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German tourist in coma after dramatic rescue at a Koh Phangan beach
PHOTO: 77Jowo A dramatic rescue of a German tourist in Koh Phangan yesterday. The man remains in a coma. 77Jowo is reporting that a 47 year old German tourist on holiday with his family was in hospital in a coma after a dramatic rescue at Nai Han Yai beach on Koh Phangan yesterday afternoon. Witnesses said that Heyros Jochen (name…
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WANTED: 1,000 World Cup Pretties
PHOTO: FIFATH.com Along with the World Cup comes the ‘crackdown’ on gambling. Khaosod English is reporting that police are looking for more than 1,000 women for illegally promoting online gambling for the upcoming World Cup. Deputy Police Chief Gen. Chalermkiat Sriworakan said warrants have been issued for more than 1,000 promotional models, known as pretties, featured in online gambling promotions…
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Officials investigating alleged encroachment in a Layan mangrove
Local fishermen in Baan Layan have filed complaints to the Damrongdhama Centre at the Phuket City Hall yesterday (June 11) calling for an investigation over alleged mangrove encroachment in Cherng Talay. More than 20 of Layan’s local fishermen, led by Somsak Prokaew, have handed a letter of complaint to the Phuket Vice Governor Prakob Wongmaneerung and the Phuket Fisheries Office…
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Monkey’s birth control starts in Phuket
The start of the monkey sterilisation process has begun in Phuket today (June 12) after all the public meetings agreed that the island’s monkeys, in the public ‘hot’ zones, needed to be sterilised in a systematic program. Read more HERE. Five islands that have been surveyed as the monkey’s new home, are not in reserved forest areas. Authorities will be…
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Thaiger World Cup wall chart – print it out, pin it up, fill it in
The Thaiger will have extensive coverage of this year’s World Cup – hourly updates on The Thaiger 102.75 FM, Facebook updates and, of course, website score updates. Here is your wall chart, in English and Thai including the Thai time for each of the games.
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Veterinarians unable to save striped dolphin
The striped dolphin that was washed up on Kamala beach last week, died yesterday (June 11) while the sperm whale which was found at Coconut Island is reported to have died of ‘natural causes’. Read more HERE. Veterinarians at the Phuket Marine Endangered Species Unit say, “The dolphin had a blood infection. We tried to help the dolphin to the…
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Two more Chinese airlines flying into Pattaya
PHOTO: Planespotters.net More Chinese airlines heading to Thailand. This time they’re adding services to the eastern seaboard. Two Chinese airlines are headed to U-tapao airport, 36 km south of Pattaya. Donghai Airlines is flying from Wanzhou to U-tapao, while Kunming Airlines is launching a service from Kunming this July. Donghai Airlines is already flying three times a week to U-tapao…
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Slow loris found on the side of the road in Krabi
Krabi veterinarians have rescued a slow loris which had been injured from an electric shock by cutting its leg yesterday (June 11). The slow loris was found on the side of the road in Ao Nang this week. Veterinarian Julachart Julapetch of a private animal hospital in Krabi conducted an operation to rescue the male slow loris which appeared to…
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Prachuap Khiri Khan woman seeks help after gaining 200 kilograms
A Prachuap Khiri Khan woman who cannot walk after gaining about 200 kilograms of weight asked for help to lose weight on Monday. 59 year old Urai Noowan, a resident of Tambon Pak Praekk in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Bang Saphan Noi district, said she could not afford going to a hospital for treatment of her obesity. She lives with her…
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Drug conflicts likely motive behind murder of five in Yala
Officials examine the blood-splattered scene where five men were shot dead in Yala’s Bannang Sata district early yesterday. Authorities say the killings were probably not related to the deep South insurgency. PHOTO: The Nation By Suriya Patathayo, Nakharin Chinnaworkomol and Parez Lohasan. A conflict over the drug trade is thought to be the motive behind the brutal killing of five men…
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Historic handshake leads to a day of talks in Singapore
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un made history this morning, becoming the first sitting US and North Korean leaders to meet and shake hands, as they seek to end a tense decades-old nuclear stand-off. The two men strode toward each other and shared a handshake beneath the white-washed walls of an upscale hotel on Sentosa Island, Singapore, before sitting down…
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Phuket Town woman arrested with drugs
In a week of ‘crackdowns’, a woman has arrested with methamphetamine and crystal methamphetamine in Phuket Town. A team of Phuket City Police have arrested 33 year old Hassaya ‘Pla’ Kamjanapong at Soi Taling Chan. Police seized 19.62 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 137 methamphetamine pills. She was taken to the Phuket City Police Station where she has been charged with…
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Five shot dead in Yala home invasion
Paramedics remove the bodies of the victims to hospital for autopsy. (PHOTO: Maluding Deeto) Police say five men have been shot dead in the southern province of Yala, the latest killings in a region plagued by insurgency for over a decade. The Bangkok Post is reporting that gunmen stormed into a house and shot five people dead in Bannang Sata district…
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Heroin-swallowing smugglers nabbed in Chiang Mai and Bangkok
15.5 kilograms of heroin is a serious amount of illicit narcotics. Six Nepalese and one Indian national have been accused of being members of a transnational drug-trafficking syndicate, They’ve been transporting drugs by having people swallow dozens of capsules containing heroin and were arrested last week. The Nepalese suspects were identified as Singha Bir Gongbotamang, Sudarshan Thapa, Prasad Gurung, Suresh…
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French tourist reports sale of Nazi merchandise in Pattaya
A French tourist has raised concerns about the sale of Nazi paraphernalia in Pattaya. PattayaOne.news reports that 34 year old Alexandre Jandaeng spoke of his shock at seeing the goods, which included pictures of Adolf Hitler, swastika emblazoned scarves and coins, on sale at a market in the popular resort town. Mr Jandaeng reported the sale of the goods to Pattaya…
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Chinese couple trash Phuket apartment
Won’t be the first tenants, nor the last, to leave a room in a disgusting condition. But this one is truly revolting, and bizarre. Coconuts Bangkok report that a Phuket apartment owner took to the internet yesterday to share horrific photos of a room he rented to a Chinese couple for just two nights. The Thai man went so far as to…
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Thaiger Briefing – June 11
thethaiger.com Briefing. A new, daily, quick update on all Phuket and Thailand’s main news stories.
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One arrest leads to three other in the ongoing drug crackdown
A team from the Phuket Provincial Police, led by Lt Col Pongpan Siripattaranukun, last week arrested four drug suspects. On Monday (June 4), Police arrested 22 year old Chaianan ‘Ham’ Kaewamporn at a house in Kathu. Police seized 3.37 grams of crystal methamphetamine. He was taken to the Kathu Police Station. On Tuesday (June 5) police arrested 34 year old…
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Kane Shepherd receives two awards at the Meritus Awards Gala in KL
Kane Shepherd, Thailand’s young motorsports star, has received the coveted Rookie Overall Champion trophy for first year drivers and Overall Vice Champion at the recent Formula 4 Meritus Awards Gala 2017. The Meritus Awards Gala (MAG) 2017 is an annual black-tie event to profile and reward racing talent in Asia Pacific. Held in Kuala Lumpur on June 8, the MAG…
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Upgraded measures discussed over Chinese tourists safety
At a meeting was held today (June 11), hosted by the Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Teeraphol Thipjaroen along with his guest, the Chinese Consulate-General in Phuket, Ma Cui Hong. Maj Gen Teeraphol says, “The meeting today is aimed at finding additional measures to assure the safety of Chinese tourists, especially warning and direction signs in the Chinese language, placed…
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Green turtle found in Chantaburi, full of plastic
The reporting of the deaths of these magnificent marine creatures, found to be riddled with plastic they’ve unfitly consumed as they feed in the seas off Thailand, puts more pressure on the Thai Government. Let’s hope their deaths are not in vain. A green turtle has died in Chanthaburi’s Laem Sing district after consuming a vast quantity of plastic. A Facebook page, ReReef,…
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French man released without charge after rape allegations from UK teen
PHOTO: Daily News Koh Tao, in the news again for all the wrong reasons. This time, a story printed in international media, has taken a turn with the man arrested in Phuket for the alleged rape, released from custody. The French man, arrested in Phuket in April, after a UK 18 year old claimed that she had been raped on…
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Dutch Ambassador shares concerns over safety of Phuket tourists
Phuket’s Vice Governor Thawornwat Kongkaew welcomed the Ambassador-Designate in Thailand Kees Rade and Dutch Honorary Consul for Phuket, Seven Smulders, over the weekend. Vice Governor Thawornwat says after the meeting, “We have discussed about tourist safety, things like tourists who rent motorbikes without motorbike license, beach safety and emergency situation management.” “We have surveyed a number of rental motorbike companies…
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10 Hua Hin hotels face closure over Hotel Act infringements
‘Fake’ hotels and other premises being operated as hotels, but don’t have proper licences, are in the firing line at the moment, in just about all the major tourist provinces around the country. There’s clearly a nationwide crackdown on these dodgy guesthouses, hostels and mini-hotels at the moment. The owners say they find it almost impossible to comply with the…
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A tale of two cities, Phuket style
By Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com The raindrops keep falling on my head. Rainy season always brings with it time to dust off the classics, and strangely enough, straight off my top shelf came Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. Life is played out so well in these tattered pages, which are turned a mottled brown on the edges. There…
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Two arrested over kratom in raids in Chalong
A team of Chalong police, with search warrants in hand, raided two houses in Chalong on Friday (June 8). Police first raided a house in Soi Palai at 5pm. Police arrested 22 year old Anuwat Khawon. Police seized 20 bundles of kratom leaves. Anuwat admitted that he came to the house to buy kratom leaves. The seller went had already…
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Lampang pineapple farmers picket City Hall over falling prices
Pineapple prices have been tumbling across the country, not only in the popular southern plantations. Now Lampang pineapple farmers are struggling to sell their products in the Chiang Mai market after another price crash hits the pineapple world. On June 8, over 10 pineapple farmers from Lampang set up shop outside City Hall to highlight the problems with pineapple prices falling…
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Dead sperm whale found off Phuket under investigation
Officials at the Phuket Marine Endangered Species Unit are investigating yet another mammal washed up on our beaches, this time aa dead sperm whale which was washed up on a beach at Coconut Island on Saturday (June 9). Officials at the Phuket Marine Endangered Species Unit were notified on Saturday afternoon that the dead whale has been washed onto the…
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Burmese national arrested over murder in Rassada
A Burmese national killed another Myanmar man saying that he “was angry that his father was slapped on the face” yesterday (June 10). Phuket City Police were notified of an incident at a rented property in Rassada yesterday afternoon. Police and rescue workers arrived at the scene to find the body of a 37 year old La, a Burmese national…
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Laguna Phuket Marathon Results – All the winners
ALL PHOTOS: Naratip Golf Srisupab/SEALs Sports Images The Laguna Phuket Marathon has been run and won for 2018. Here are the winners. Congratulations to all the participants and organisers. Here are the Top Three results for each distance… Marathon (42.195km) – Male Koji Nishizawa (JPN), 02:44:16 Supit Chantharat (THA), 02:54:52 Jaray Jearanai (THA), 02:59:37 Marathon (42.195km) – Female Sabrina Polito (ITA), 03:30:27…
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