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 Pre-existing conditions? These expat insurance plans still have you covered
Many expats feel worried that their pre-existing health problems will stop them from getting insurance in a new country. This fear is common, especially when medical care can be expensive. But the good news is, some insurance, like the plans...
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Rotary Club of Bangkok and Rotary Thailand celebrate 88th anniversary
PHOTO: The Board of Directors and members of the Rotary Club of Bangkok The Rotary Club of Bangkok, the first Rotary Club in Thailand, celebrated its 88th anniversary on September 21, 2018 with a major gathering of members and dignitaries from across Asia. Led by Khun Maleeratna Plumchitchom, the current President of the Rotary Club of Bangkok, the anniversary event was…
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Thai public hospital system under stress
Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Sukhum Kanchanapimai yesterday admitted that the country’s hospitals were overwhelmed, following an outspoken doctor’s comments that the system was “close to collapse”. Sukhum told a press conference in Nonthaburi province yesterday that crowded conditions were a reality and the bed occupation rate in many big hospitals was beyond full capacity. To tackle this long-standing…
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Thaiger Radio News – Thursday
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All Phuket tsunami warning towers still working – Phuket DDPM
In the wake of the Palu tsunami in Sulawesi, many Phuketians have asked us to check if the island’s tsunami warning system is working. Good news. All 19 of Phuket’s tsunami warning towers are fully operational. Only a few of them had minor problems with their audio alarm, according to the Phuket DDPM Chief. Another Indonesian earthquake, this time a…
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Tourism operators appeal indefinite closure of Maya Bay
by Sitthichai Sikhawat The indefinite closure of Koh Phi Phi Ley’s Maya Bay is causing ripples of concern through the island’s tourism associations, operators and beyond. The Krabi Tourism Association president Wattana Rerngsamut is appealing the indefinite closure in an order listed in the Royal Gazette on Monday and made public on Tuesday. The move will severely affect the tourism…
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Warning for horny pachyderms in Phetchaburi
Sanook reports that the head of the Kaeng Krachan national park in Phetchaburi is warning us to take care after a video showing an elephant in ‘musth’. An elephant in musth can have up to six times greater reproductive hormones running through their veins. According to the national park chief, elephants can become dangerous to their own kind as well as…
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Interpol red-list Russian nabbed in Pattaya
PHOTO: Manager Online A Russian man, wanted on an Interpol red warrant, is now in custody after police caught up with him in Pattaya yesterday. The arrest was made after the Chon Buri police head office received a request from the Russian embassy to locate Vitalil Trofimov, who is wanted in Russia on drug trafficking charges. Police checked records and…
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Nigerian and Thai arrested over romance scam
Police have arrested a Thai woman and a Nigerian man for having allegedly deceived at least three Thai women to transfer them some 444,900 baht in a romance scam. The new immigration police chief Maj Gen Surachet Hakpal told a press conference on Wednesday that 41 year old Chigozie Orisakwe and 37 year old and Panhathai Chermchan were arrested under…
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Five vehicles involved in Krabi traffic light pile up
A driver has escaped serious injury after colliding with other vehicles at a traffic light in Krabi today, setting off a chain of other damage to the cars in front The Krabi City Police were notified of the incident at an intersection on Petkasem Road in Krabi City about midday. Police and rescue workers arrived at the scene to find…
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Crocodile farms in Krabi checked after wandering croc captured
Officials from the Krabi Fisheries Office have checked crocodile farms around Krabi after locals caught a two metre crocodile in a mangrove forest in Klongtom this week, while another crocodile has been sighted in the same area. Read more about the crocodile being caught by locals HERE. Officials from Krabi Fisheries Office yesterday checked a crocodile farm owned by Nikorn Piwon…
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Andaman’s Barren Island Volcano erupting
PHOTO: Volcano Hotspot According to volcanodiscovery.com, the Barren Island Volcano, situated about 800 kilometres north-west of Phuket, and 130 kilometres east of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is erupting today. There are currently no warnings or alerts about this occurrence – the volcano last erupted in December last year. According to volcanodiscovery.com, Barren Island, a possession of India in the…
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An earthquake, a tsunami, now a bubbling volcano – Sulawesi
PHOTO: North Sulawesi’s Mt Soputan erupts, status raised to Level 3’Alert’ – The Jakarta Post Mount Soputan in North Sulawesi’s Minahasa regency is emitting a 4 kilometre high plume of ash this . It started at 8:47 am local time, or 7:47 am. Jakarta time, prompting authorities to raise the volcano’s status to a Level 3 of the national four-level volcano alert system. Mount…
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Thaiger Radio News – Wednesday
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Thousands of children among survivors desperate for aid – Sulawesi
PHOTO: VOA News “Survivors are also stepping forward on their own to retrieve bodies trapped under soil.” Tens of thousands of children are in an “extremely precarious” condition in the wake of last Friday’s earthquake on Sulawesi island, eastern Indonesia, even as survivors grow desperate for aid and fears mount that the death toll could rise further. Four days after…
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More CCTV cameras being installed around Kathu
Baddies, look up. Big brother is watching you… yes YOU. 37 more CCTV cameras are headed for the streets around Kathu to upgrade safety. Kathu Police Chief Col Dr Jakkrawat Boontaweesakun says, “Kathu has continued to grow up and the population has increased. We are concern about city development, especially safety.” Kathu also sees the majority of traffic to and…
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Maya Bay’s long road to recovery
by Kornrawee Panyasuppakun and The Thaiger Phi Phi tour operators are crying foul and seeking assistance from authorities after the local tourist magnet, Maya Bay has been declared ‘closed indefinitely’ pending further rehabilitation of the corals around the bay. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) is extending the closure of Maya Bay’s Had Nopparat Tara-Mu Koh Phi…
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Violent tuk-tuk driver faces charges over incident at Chiang Mai airport – VIDEO
A tuk-tuk driver who led a blockade of a Grab taxi at Chiang Mai International Airport on Monday has no public-transport driving licence and will face several charges following the incident, which was exposed by a foreign visitor. The Chiang Mai Land Transport Office and the Chiang Mai police head office met today to plan legal actions after @Winston Vaduz…
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Maya Bay, closed until further notice – VIDEO
Koh Phi Phi’s iconic Maya Bay is now being closed until national park officials see some better signs of recovery in the damaged eco-system. Tim Newton reports… https://www.facebook.com/thethaigernews/videos/555881841529943/
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Ten injured in a Krabi minivan accident
Eight tourists and two Thai have been injured in a minivan accident in Plai Phraya, Krabi, this afternoon. Plai Phraya Police in Krabi were notified that a passenger minivan had veered off the road and flipped over on the Southern Sea Road at about 2pm. When emergency responders arrived they found a minivan off the side off the road in…
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No happy endings for two massage parlours in Phang Nga
PHOTOS: Sanook Phang Nga district officials and the military have raided two establishments in the Lamken sub-district over the weekend after complaints of noise and the the businesses selling ‘sex’. The first business was called ‘Nang Fa’ (Angel) and was found to have seven staff including one Laotian national whose work permit had expired. The owner ‘Thayarat’ was busted for flouting…
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Maya Bay closed indefinitely
Maya Bay is to remain closed indefinietly. The four month closure of Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi has failed to restore the beach area as anticipated. So the national parks authority has issued a letter extending the closure of the bay. Sanook is reporting that no date has been announced when the famous bay would be re-opened again to…
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One dead in Phoenix boat salvage operations
The salvage operations for the ‘Phoenix’ have become mired in poor arrangements and unsuitable weather since operations began several months ago. Now, one person has died during the operations. On September 29, around noon, 37 year old Nipat ‘Jos’ Gladnak died during the salvage operation. It’s reported that Khun Nipat fainted whilst standing at the back of the salvage boat.…
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Survivors try to flee Palu as aid starts to flow in
PHOTO: Locals and aid volunteers are trying to start the long clean up in Palu – VOA News As aid and volunteers continue pour into north-western areas of Sulawesi, following last Friday’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake and the subsequent tsunami, survivors are scrambling to salvage food supplies and other items. Aid from the central Indonesian government is beginning to trickle into the…
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Phuket police hunting for a suspect in alleged rape attack
PHOTOS: Sakkarin Somboon / Newshawk Phuket Phuket police are hunting for a suspect in an alleged rape. Police are hoping someone can identify the published photo. A video clip of the man, who followed two women into a room and thenrunning out of the room, has become viral on social media since September 30. Victims say that the suspect was…
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Thaiger Radio News – Tuesday
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Thanathorn says he’s ready to be the next Thai PM
PHOTO: Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit “Thanathorn added that he would not talk to Prayut while he was head of the junta.” The Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit says he’s ready to become the next Thai PM and highlighted the campaign “Thailand 2X” that promotes equality among Thais and to make the country fit to compete with others. The…
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Whale shark sighted off Koh Racha
A healthy looking whale shark was sighted off Koh Racha, south of Phuket, yesterday. Videos of the whale shark have been shared widely in social media with a message reading “a whale shark is near Koh Racha and swimming near a tour boat.” A tour guide of Nikorn Marine company, Mali Boondanpai, who recorded the video says, “the tour boat…
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‘Don’t break the law in Pattaya, or else” – Pattaya police chief
Pattaya’s police chief Pol Col Apichai Krobpetch has a clear warning directed at criminals intent on committing crime against tourists in the infamous coastal city. “We will arrest you. You can be sure of that.” The chief had his photo taken with a tourist who had the seat of her scooted forced open by two Thais who stole a bag…
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New Phuket governors and a bad case of deja vu
OPINION “Andrea Kotas Tammathin, who is to be officially appointed as Switzerland’s honorary consul for Phuket on Friday… Mrs Tammathin will be joining a group of honorary consuls from Europe who have asked questions for the past two years about scams among jet-ski operators on Patong beach and the continuing high fares demanded by Phuket tuk-tuk and taxi drivers.” –…
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Two metre crocodile caught in Krabi
A two metre crocodile has been caught in a mangrove forest in Klongtom, Krabi whilst another crocodile was sighted last night. Officials from the Krabi Provincial Fisheries Office arrived at the area after being notified by locals that a crocodile has been caught. The crocodile was 1.8 metres and 30 kilograms, female and in good health. 36 year old Noppohn…
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