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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Jehovah’s Witness to hold national convention
PHUKET: Members of the church of Jehovah’s Witness from Phuket and throughout Thailand are meeting in Bangkok from Friday September 30 to Sunday October 2 for a multinational convention titled ‘Remain Loyal to Jehovah!’. The convention, to be held at Thurakit Bandit University on Prachachuen Road in the Lak Si district of the capital, is one of a series of…
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Phuket sports organizations make it to SPIA Asia finals
PHUKET: A handful of Phuket events and sports businesses have made the final shortlists of the 2016 Asian Sports Industry Awards (SPIA Asia) and will be competing against the best in Thailand and Asia for a prestigious SPIA award this year. A total of 72 Thai entries made the final shortlist for SPIA Asia 2016 in a variety of categories,…
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PM opens international terminal
PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha arrived at Phuket International Airport this morning. The visit by the head of Thailand’s military government is billed to last only for today, as he headlines the opening ceremonies of the airport’s international terminal, inaugurates ‘Startup Thailand’ and meets with trade representatives at Phuket Rajabhat University. This morning, in an elaborate ceremony attended by…
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Burmese laborer in fatal fall at Patong building site
PHUKET: A Burmese man reportedly fell to his death this morning while working on the 4th floor level of a building under construction in Patong. The man was found dead by co-workers around 10:30am. “Mr Tee, 56, was found lying face down in a pool of blood below the spot where he had been working at the construction site on…
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Krabi monks cough up cash to repair road
KRABI: Monks and other locals in Krabi took it upon themselves yesterday to finally fix a road that had remained damaged for over a decade. The Abbot of Suwan Thararam Temple, Luang Phor Prathuan Jitseelo, led a team of nine monks and locals in repairing the pot-holed road. The monks financed the operation by diving into their own pockets as…
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Local vendors oppose Supercheap rumored to open in Rassada
PHUKET: Local vendors took to the streets of Rassada on Tuesday to voice their opinions, following rumors that Supercheap plans to open a store in the area. About 40 vendors gathered in Soi King Kaew Utit at about 5:30pm. “Panumas Nukuea, one of the vendors, has stated that locals can’t compete with the prices that Supercheap offers its customers and…
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Krathom peddling, foreigner-targeting bus gang apprehended
PHANG NGA: Police detained three men yesterday accused of robbing a Belgian tourist aboard a Phuket-bound bus. Peter De Balabander boarded the bus in Surat Thani and said he had asked bus staff to load his bags, but after arriving at Khao Sok National Park in Surat Thani and hailing a taxi to his rented bungalow, he realized that he…
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Wanted Aussie fugitive arrested in Patong
PHUKET: Police arrested an Australian fugitive in Patong at 11pm Tuesday night. Patong and Tourist Police, joined by officers of the Australian Federal Police (AFP), arrested 58-year-old Robert Gordon Pollybank Gee at Bar Funk on Bangla Road. Mr Gee is allegedly wanted in Australia for the possession and sale of drugs, possession of restricted chemical substances and falsifying documents for…
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Wanted posters of bombing suspects go up in Phuket
PHUKET: Wanted posters with photographs of the August 12 bombing suspects (story here) as well the suspects of the Samui bombing last year (story here) were put up in four hot spots on the island yesterday. The four 3×4 meter posters show pictures of the eight suspects. The general public is being urged to contact the 24-hour hotline on 191…
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Phuket to host November Ironman 70.3
PHUKET: Phuket is to host the next Ironman 70.3 triathlon on November 27 with a US$15,000 professional prize purse, Ironman Asia announced yesterday. The ‘Foremost Ironman 70.3 Thailand’ comprises a 1.9km rectangular swim that will start and end at Xana Beach Club Laguna Phuket, a 90km bike ride through the Laguna Phuket property and on to the Sarasin Bridge, and…
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Transport co fined after biker killed in smash with unregistered bus
PHUKET: The Phuket Land Transport Office fined a transportation company 50,000 baht this morning after their unregistered bus killed a motorbiker attempting to make a u-turn yesterday. The accident occurred about 4pm on the southbound lanes of Thepkrasattri Road, in front of the Hongyok Bumrung School in Baan Suan Maphrao, northern Phuket (story here). “We called in Ratcharot Travel to…
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Rider ripped to pieces in 4am horror crash
PHUKET: A motorbike rider was torn to pieces in a fatal ‘ghost riding’ collision on Thepkrasattri Road at about 4am today. Piroon Aka, 44, was driving home to Mai Khao when he was in a collision with motorcyclist Puriwat Sukbanjong, 32. Mr Puriwat was dismembered in the smash and ended up in a grotesque heap on a grass verge –…
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New Phuket governor named
PHUKET: Thailand’s Council of Ministers announced this morning that Chokchai Detamornthan will replace Chamroen Tipayapongtada as the governor of Phuket. The announcement comes after the cabinet decided to transfer Governor Chamroen to Nakhon Sri Thammarat, effective October 1 (story here). Mr Chokchai, who has been governor of the northeastern Maha Sarakam province since last October, reportedly fired 32 Tambon Administration…
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Motorbike rider killed by tourist bus
PHUKET: A man on a motorbike was killed as he attempted to make a u-turn on Thepkrasattri Road this afternoon. The accident took place at about 4pm on the southbound lanes of the busy thoroughfare, in front of the Hongyok Bumrung School in Baan Suan Maphrao, northern Phuket. “Witnesses said that the man, currently known only as Mr Dol since…
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South Korea supports Phuket’s smart city endeavor
PHUKET: A Delegation from the South Korean city of Busan visited Phuket late last month to reiterate their support for Phuket’s ‘smart city’ endeavors. Busan’s special economic advisor, Gi-Ryong Jung, and an entourage of Korean agency representatives were at the 2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on smart sustainable cities and e-government, held at Le Meridian Phuket. Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada welcomed…
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Plans for 12-lane highway approved
PHUKET: Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada announced on September 6 that preliminary plans for a proposed 12-lane highway running the length of the island have been approved and may be completed by 2022. Although the exact route of the proposed superhighway has not yet been decided, the 22 kilometer project would reportedly start 1km away from Phuket International Airport and extend to…
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Russian nabbed for failed gold shop heist
PHUKET: Police have caught a hapless Russian robber who broke into a gold shop in Patong on Friday night but failed to snag any swag after discovering that all the gold had been locked away in the shop’s safe for the night (story here). Dmitrii Sevastianov, 32, admitted to breaking into Yaowarat Namchok Gold Shop on Phra Metta Road in…
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Gloucester man killed in crash
PHUKET: A British expatriate died after reportedly being cut off by a pickup truck on Saturday night. Michael Fraser Macpherson, 44, was killed on Kwang Road, in front of the Baan Manee Kram Jomthong Tanee housing complex, when his motorcycle slammed into the side of a pickup truck at about 8:40pm. Police reported that Mr Macpherson was not wearing a…
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Train services in deep South set to resume today
PATTANI: Trains in the Deep South are to resume operations today, in time to serve the surge in Muslim holidaymakers celebrating Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice), following completion of repairs to railway tracks in Pattani damaged by a bomb blast on September 3. Thanongsak Pongprasert, deputy governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said yesterday that a train without passengers…
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Test flights arrive at Phuket’s new international terminal
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport began testing the facilities of the new international terminal this week with a handful of flights ahead of the official opening of the terminal later this month. Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha is scheduled to preside over the grand opening of the new facility on September 16 (story here). Phuket Airport Director Monrudee Gettuphan said the…
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Bungling burglar sought after failed Patong gold shop robbery
PHUKET: Police are hunting for a ‘farang-looking’ man who broke into a gold shop in Patong on Thursday night but left empty handed after failing to snatch any stash. However, the burglar did leave clues, including dusty finger prints on the door of the shop’s safe, where all the gold had been locked away. The owner of the Yaowarat Namchok…
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DSI: Land officer’s death not on CCTV
BANGKOK: The Department of Special Investigations (DSI) claims that it has no CCTV footage of the events surrounding the suspicious death of Tawatchai Anukul in a police cell, insisting that the system’s server was faulty at the time. Police are investigating the death of Mr Tawatchai, 66, a former land department official previously based in Phuket and Phang Nga, to…
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Phuket Smart City Innovation Park launched
PHUKET: The Phuket Smart City Innovation Park officially opened at Saphan Hin yesterday. “The four-storey building is a symbol that the pioneer smart city project in Phuket is becoming a reality. The venture is supported by the Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA),” Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada said at the launch. The building houses an ASEAN Tourism Software Excellence Center, IOT…
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Officials plan to install 1,000 CCTV cameras
PHUKET: Ten more CCTV cameras are to be installed along Bangla Road, Patong police announced this week. The cameras are to be installed as part of a public-private sector partnership, Patong Police Col Chaiwat Auikam said. Managing Director of the Pisona Group and member of a well-known Thai family in Patong, Preechawut ‘Prab’ Keesin, said the project received support from…
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Phuket hospital warns blood donors not to over react
PHUKET: Staff at Vachira Phuket Hospital’s blood bank have warned the public to be careful about reacting to requests on social media for urgent blood donations, after news went viral on Wednesday of a teenage motorbike accident victim urgently needing A-type blood donations. The hospital was inundated with blood donors who had seen the social media posts and believed that…
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Opinion: Buying and investing in property in Phuket
PHUKET: Panuwat Somrit is a Phuket lawyer specializing in property. He has been practicing law for the past six years. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in law from Ramkhamhaeng University. Here he talks about how to buy and invest in property in Phuket. Buying or investing in property may seem like a straight forward and easy transaction. You simply…
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Opinion: Woes of a traveller
PHUKET: People say they love travelling, but what they really mean is that they enjoy spending time in other places, not the actual experience of travelling itself. Air travel is one of those unfortunate gray areas where regulations seem to vary from airport to airport. For a recent trip from Phuket to Bangkok, I booked and paid for my flight…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: How to ‘wai’ properly
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
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Tougher driving tests down the road
PHUKET: Thailand has the second worst death toll from road accidents in the world, according to the World Health Organization. With more than 20,000 people killed annually throughout the country, Phuket officials have announced their support for more stringent guidelines before issuing would-be motorists with a driver’s license. Earlier this month, the Department of Land Transport (DLT) announced an initiative…
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Finance: Bullish biotech breaks previous highs
PHUKET: As of early June, the US S&P 500, Nasdaq and the Dow are all at critical turning points because after a two-year long correction, the market is tightly compressed and sitting only a few points from a new all-time high – or making new highs such as with the Dow and S&P500. The big picture is this: The last…
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