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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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The Thaiger key takeaways The most common medical emergencies for expats in Thailand include motorcycle accidents, tropical diseases, and food or water-borne illnesses. Air pollution and heat-related conditions like heatstroke also pose serious seasonal health risks, especially in northern and...
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Dara Hotel control room fire – Phuket
There’s been a fire at the Dara Hotel in Phuket Town. No injuries have been reported. It is believed that the fire started from sparks inside an electric control room of the hotel. Firefighters were notified of the fire at 1.30pm yesterday (June 1) at the hotel near the Darasamuth underpass intersection (Central Festival). Firefighters with 10 fire engines, together…
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Temple ‘accommodation’ building works spark concerns – Chiang Mai
“When asked about the cease order, the temple responded that it had appealed to the court and was waiting for a trial, but the court had allowed them to continue construction in the meantime.” Local people are complaining to the Ou Sai Kham temple after construction of a four-story building next to a sacred historical 100-year-old house has began again.…
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Seven die in motorway smash
PHOTOS: @js100radio Seven people have been killed and four others wounded in a multiple-vehicle crash at Chonburi on the Bangkok inbound lane of Motor Way last night (Friday). The accident involving an 18 wheel truck, a 10 wheel truck, an SUV and a pick-up truck at the 57+800 kilometre marker happened around 7pm, resulting in a severe traffic jam.
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Maya Bay’s four month ‘tourist break’ begins
Park Rangers at the Nopparat Tara-Mu Ko Phi Phi marine national park have placed buoys outlining a no-access zone as part of a bid to rehabilitate the park’s world-renowned Maya Bay. The decision to close Maya to pave the way for a rest period, and preparation for new access to the area, was made by the National Parks, Wildlife, and…
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Local teachers work with Soi Dog to pass on lessons in animal welfare
On May 24 – 25, Phuket’s Soi Dog Foundation conducted animal welfare workshops entitled ‘Humans Love Animals, Animals Love Environment’, gathering local school teachers from 12 schools across the island. Realising the importance of the younger generation and the power of education, the Foundation’s education team passed on their animal welfare knowledge through these educators who shared the experience and…
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Road accident prevention project aimed at schools – Phuket
A promotion has been launched at Phuket Wittayalai School in Phuket Town this morning, hosted Phuket’s Governor, with a target to decrease road accidents. Governor Norraphat says, “The number of accidents and injuries during this year’s Songkran Festival decreased, but the number of deaths from road accidents was the same as last year. Students were the highest demographic in this year’s Songkran…
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Phuket airport’s domestic terminal launches today
The Phuket International Airport General Manager Petch Chancharoen took Phuket’s media on a tour of the full service domestic terminal today (June 1). There are now 66 check-in counters, carry-on luggage checkpoints with 8 x-ray machines, revamped Boarding Gates 4-10 and 7 sky bridges. Five toilet areas (for male, female and disabled) are now provided as part of the renovation. The third…
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15,000 smuggled cigarette packs seized in Hat Yai
FILE PHOTO: The Nation (from January this year) Excise officials have seized 15,000 packages of smuggled cigarettes in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district last night (Thursday). The goods were found at a house in a rubber plantation in Tambon Klong U-tapao following a tip-off, says Thammasak La-or-iam, an official of the Excise Area 9 Office. The 25 cartons of cigarettes were…
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Phuket Airport holds annual tsunami evacuation drill
Phuket Airport has held its annual tsunami drill. The drill yesterday (May 31) at the Phuket International Airport was led by Phuket Vice Governor Snith Sriwihok and the Phuket International Airport General Manager Petch Chancharoen. Mr Petch says, “safety is the most important thing we’re concerned with. The drill simulated an earthquake with its epicentre located at the Nicobar Islands –…
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Pattaya’s Walking Street gets a ‘family’ make-over.
Walking Street in South Pattaya is facing its biggest makeover in decades early next year for a more family orientated feel. The unsightly hanging wires are set to be buried underground in an effort to beautify the infamous red light street to appeal to families. But not everyone is thrilled about it – the operators are worried about the effect on…
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’11 months’ until the next election. Do the maths….
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Kreangam election will take place about 11 months from now after the Constitutional Court ruled the organic bill on the election of MPs as ‘constitutional’. The 11 month timeline puts next years election around April, at least two months after PM Prayut promised the next general election for Thai voters. Bu the deputy PM assured that…
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Draft plan to allow foreigners to work in 11 ‘reserved’ occupations
A plan by the Labour Ministry would allow foreigners to enter 11 of the 39 occupations that are currently reserved for Thais. If the plan goes ahead, foreigners will be able to work as civil engineers, accountants and architects in Thailand under certain conditions. “For example, we won’t allow them to work independently or become business owners,” Labour Minister Police…
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Two escape injures in Patong house fire. Woken up by cat hero.
Patong police have been notified of a fire in a Soi near the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Road in Patong early today (May 31) at 05.20am. Firefighters and fire engines arrived to find a two storey old timber and concrete house ablaze. It took about 20 minutes to extinguish the fire. Fabric, a laptop and some stationary…
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Some monkeys will be moved, most will be sterilised – Phuket
A meeting was held today (May 31) at the Governor’s residence, hosted by Governor Plodthong. The meeting was to collate information from all the recent public hearings into Phuket’s monkey problems and relocation plans. All the public meetings agreed that the island’s monkeys, in the public ‘hot’ zones, needed to be sterilised in a systematic program. Tha Chin community in…
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Four arrested with 414,000 methamphetamine pills, ‘ice’, ecstasy tablets and ketamine
Bangkok police arrested three men and a woman on charges of alleged drug trafficking and seized 414,000 methamphetamine pills, 28 kilograms of crystal meth or “ice”, 18,000 ecstasy pills and 1.8 kg of ketamine in two related operations. The arrests were announced at a press conference at the Metropolitan Police Bureau at noon on Thursday. The suspects were all between…
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Temporary market being set up to assist vendors this weekend
Forensic police have been investigating the ‘Trunk’ market fire last Sunday night (just off Phang Nga Road, Phuket Town), while an executive of the Jatujak Phuket Company, Wannakorn Pattarapakorn, was visiting shop-holders to discuss options. Read more about the fire HERE. An executive of the Jatujak Phuket Company, Wannakorn Pattarapakorn says, “Some vendors still have products that they were able to salvage…
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Chiang Mai hostel & guesthouse owners seeking clarification on Hotel Act
PHOTO: Manon Hostel, Chiang Mai Concerns over interpretation of the current Hotels Act, following a court-ruling last month about a Hua Hin condo being deemed illegal when renting rooms by day or week, have spread to Chiang Mai where guesthouse and hostel owners are seeking clarification. Guesthouse, hostel and small hotel owners in the northern city have filed a petition…
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Patong lifeguards call for safe equipment storage
Yesterday (May 30) one of Patong’s lifeguard posted pictures on his personal facebook. The photos showed a damaged lifesaving equipment storage box. The head of Patong lifeguards, Somprasong Sangchart, says, “Someone has destroyed the storage box near Loma Park on Tuesday (May 29) but everything is still inside the box. I discovered this yesterday morning.” “This is not the first…
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Two arrested over shots in the air – Wichit
Wichit Police were notified of an incident yesterday afternoon (May 30) at Mummuang Market. Lt Col Anuwat Raksayot says, “We found a man (the first person). He told us that he and another man (second person) were arguing because they had looked at each other inside a 7-ELEVEN stores nearby. They don’t even know each other. This triggered some sort of…
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Hua Hin and Khon Kaen to get extra flights from Air Asia
Hua Hin and Khon Kaen, new flight destinations for Air Asia, are looking to get more passenger love with Air Asia announcing proposed expansion of routes to the two destinations. New routes are being added to and from the Hua Hin airport, adding to the first scheduled flights from KL, Malaysia this month. Hua Hin International Airport The proposed new…
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Bus driver dies trying to fix air-brakes in Koh Kaew
Police and Kusoldarm rescue workers arrived at a car park inside a Shell gas station in Koh Kaew to find a parked Bangkok-Phuket bus. At the left back wheel they found the body of a man who was later identified as 25 year old Nattakit Bamrungrai from Kamphaeng Phet. The man was found half-sitting next to the wheel. His head was…
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Similan Islands – no more sleep overs from October
by Pratch Rujivanarom With Maya Bay at Koh Phi Phi Ley poised to close for four months from tomorrow, an announcement yesterday that overnight stays will no longer be allowed in the Mu Ko Similan Marine National Park off Phang Nga province starting from this October. While the number of visitors to its pristine islands will also be limited as…
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Seconds in it on Day 3 of Samui Regatta
Performance Cruising on Day 3 of 2018 Samui Regatta. Day 3 of the 2018 Samui Regatta started off with a whimper. The storms of yesterday had gone and the sun was out in force, hopes were high for a return to the tropical sailing conditions which have made Samui Regatta so famous. Come start time all the ingredients were there,…
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Search resumes for missing Russian on Samui
Samui officials have resumed a search for a female Russian tourist who went missing on Koh Samui more than a month ago. She is said to be suffering dementia. 39 year old Inna Obukhova was last seen at Centra Coconut Resort Samui on April 20. The operation is being assisted by a sniffer dog from the Nakhon Si Thammarat Border…
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Five injured in Phayao bang fai rocket explosion
A bang fai bamboo rocket exploded inside a temple compound in Phayao’s Chiang Kham district last night (Tuesday), injuring five villagers. Police report that the explosion occurred at 10.30pm at the Wat Phra That Sobwaen in Tambon Yuan after villagers performed a candle procession around the chapel to mark Visakha Bucha Day after the procession. Witnesses told police that the…
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Police poised to introduce new points demerit system
Police are getting closer to linking their computer networks to marry speed and traffic cameras, and traffic tickets with vehicle registration data, making it possible to start automating fines in the hope of having a more thorough and accurate penalty system. The Royal Thai Police say they plan to introduce a penalty point system to deal with traffic offences in…
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Coral bleaching found off Krabi
On Monday (May 28) divers from Local Diving Krabi Company posted a video clip of coral bleaching underwater at Koh Ya Wa Sam (Koh Koo) near Separated Sea (Thale Waek) which is one of Thailand’s lesser-known highlights in the Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park. Dive instructor Parinya Pantajit says, “We found that coral has been ‘bleaching’ since the beginning…
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Flooding in Thailand’s north and northeast
Heavy rains last night (Wednesday) in mountains in a national park swelled canals to bursting levels in a village in Lampang’s Thoen district. About 30 houses in Ban Mae Pa Doi were flooded when the Mae Pa Canal overflowed with runoff from Wiang Kosai National Park, a common occurrence according to local officials. The waters subsided after about three hours.…
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Phuket report shows arrivals up 19% in Q1
By Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com Thailand’s great push forward on mega-transportation projects is seeing strong dividends in the local tourism industry. One key example is Phuket, where passenger arrivals grew by nearly 19% in the first four month of the year at the newly upgraded and expanded international airport. Why Phuket? One only has to look at the upward trajectory…
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Hua Hin taxi driver to face court after assault
PHOTO: Manager online Manager Online is reporting that a Hua Hin taxi driver will appear in court after he is alleged to have attacked a Khao Takiab receptionist at a taxi rank last Saturday. The hotel receptionist, Sasiwimon Srikham, suffered five stitches in her head and mouth wounds after she was attacked while walking by the rank in Khao Takiab.…
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