News
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5 hidden healthcare costs in Thailand and how to avoid them
Thailand's healthcare system is affordable and supported by the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme, offering essential services to most citizens. However, hidden healthcare costs can surprise patients and lead to unexpected expenses. These include specialist fees, insurance gaps, emergency services,...
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Alert to avoid Phuket King’s Cup Regatta area
The Phuket Marine Office has issued a warning for boats to avoid areas where the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta is being held in and around Kata Bay this week. The event started today. The warning states that, due to the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta being held from December 2 to December 8 in Kata Bay, from 8.30am to 7.30pm each…
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Centara strikes deal for three new hotels in Laos
Thailand’s leading hotel operator Centara Hotels, announced it has signed management agreements for three new properties with a combined total of 216 keys, with Asia Investment, Development & Construction Sole Co., Ltd (AIDC), a well-established enterprise in Laos.  In the UNESCO World Heritage site of Luang Prabang, Centara plans to open an upper upscale Centara Grand Luang Prabang and a…
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Chiang Mai football team cries foul over ‘big’ Under 12 team
PHOTOS: Sanook A Chiang Mai football coach is complaining online after his team played another team from Nan province who were much bigger. Sanook is reporting that the coach alleges the Nan team were not Under 12s and complained that this “should not be happening in Thailand 4.0”. The photos clearly indicate the Nan team were much taller. But his…
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Where do old Thai Airways 747s go?
A Chai Nat local loved the Thai Airways Boeing 747-400 Jumbo jets so much he bought an old one when it came up for auction. OneMileAtATime.com is reporting that Thai Airways is slowly phasing out its fleet of Boeing 747s with 10 still in active service, and a further 10 stored, or for sale. Given there are hundreds of 747s…
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Phuket surf lifesavers wrap up local comp at Patong Beach
PHOTOS:Â Phuket Lifeguard Service Phuket Surf Life Saving Competition has wrapped up its seventh successful event at Patong Beach, Phuket. This year there were 19 teams for Open men’s and women’s divisions and 13 teams for Youth Boys and Girls. The winners of the event were The Zemberles Life Saving Team from The Philippines. Second place went to locals, the Nai…
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Internet freebies rolled out for Christmas
The government is finalising plans to give more than 11 million low-income Thai citizens free internet SIM cards and other subsidies that will together cost taxpayers billions of baht. The roll out is part of a charm offensive from the ruling NCPO in the lead up to next year’s poll, scheduled for February 24. The Finance Ministry is proposing that…
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Koh Phi Phi has to address critical water problems
Special Report by Pratch Rujivanarom – PHOTOS:Â Sitang Pilailar “The groundwater is currently unsafe for consumption and a threat to health. Harmful pathogens and heavy metals originating from water pollution offshore have contaminated it.” The administrative authority of the Phi Phi Islands has once again called for help from the central government and state agencies to help address the chronic house…
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Chinese tourist mixed up in a ‘misunderstanding’ in Pattaya
SOURCE: Siamchon A melee broke out earlier today at the Taboo Club in Pattaya’s Walking Street. It got heated after a bouncer insisted that a Chinese tourist apologise to a bar girl he had ‘rejected’. Chinese tourists had headed to the bar and were then approached by bar girls. But 25 year old Yang Zhan didn’t appreciate her advances and…
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Thailand detains Taiwanese citizen over anti-China broadcasts
PHOTO: Taiwan News A Taiwanese businessman has been detained in Thailand for allegedly helping an underground online radio broadcast aimed at Chinese listeners. The allegations have come from Radio Free Asia (RFA). But the manager of the online radio station says Chiang Yung-hsin (蔣永新) has nothing to do with illegal broadcasts, according to the Central News Agency. Police in Bangkok…
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World AIDS Day Thailand: Know your status
The Ministry of Public Health has set a target to resolve AIDS problems by reducing the number of new cases of people infected with HIV to a maximum of 1,000, and the fatality rate of AIDS sufferers to not exceeding 4,000 cases per year by the year 2030. The announcements come on World Aids Day, December 1. Thai PBS reports…
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Thaiger Radio News – Sunday
Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…
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Dead man washed up on Nakhon Si Thammarat beach
The decomposed body of a man has washed up onto a beach in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Police said the unidentified body was spotted on the shores of the beach in Moo 9 village in Tambon Na Saton in Hua Sai district on Saturday morning. Police say the man appears to have been dead for about a week and the body…
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How will ‘Chindia’ change Phuket’s tourism future?’
What exactly is this Chindia?  In a nutshell it’s a flash drive marketplace with 1/3 of the world’s population – China and India. For a great number of Phuket hoteliers, the first half of 2018 saw marketplace velocity, where RevPAR’s rose on surging demand, and the most often heard comment was the ignominious ‘same same’. Though room rate growth was…
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Netizens disagree with official numbers: The miracle 20% rise in tourist numbers
A story from The Thaiger yesterday stirred up a lot of suspicion that the Ministry of Sports and Tourism are being ‘flexible’ with the truth. The story quoted the Sports and Tourism Minister saying that, since they introduced the visa-on-arrival fee waiver (for 21 countries), the numbers of arrivals has surged 20%. He said in his quotes that the ‘bounce’ came…
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Two year battle for hospital compensation
Thai media 77jowo is reporting that the Hua Hin Hospital and the Department of Public Health have agreed to return more than 20,000 baht to a man from the Netherlands who claims he was ripped off by the hospital because he was a foreigner. Back in September 2016 a man, Erwin Buse, complained to the government watchdog Damrongtham in Prajuap…
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Female tourist injured by speedboat propellor at Koh Phi Phi
A Chinese woman has been severely injured and rushed to hospital after being hit by a speedboat propeller while swimming at Koh Phi Phi in Krabi Province this morning. Police say the woman suffered cuts to her back and thighs before being rushed to the Koh Phi Phi Hospital and then later transferred to Phuket Vachira hospital by boat. Police…
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School van driver accused of raping two schoolgirls
A 29 year old school van driver, accused of raping two schoolgirls aged 12 and 14, has appeared at Bangkok’s Thon Buri Court as police apply for a detention order. Suspect Natthawut Chamroen, who was arrested in Thung Kru district this week, is denying charges of “taking away” girls under 15 from their parents for a lewd act, molesting and…
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Thaiger Radio News – Saturday
Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…
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Import of birds and poultry from Russia suspended to avoid bird flu
The Livestock Development Department is imposing a 90 day slowdown of imports into or transit through Thailand of birds and poultry, as well as their carcasses from Russia, Togo and Congo to prevent a possible spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza HPAI H5N1 virus in the country (bird flu). Thai PBS reports that the department’s previous announcement for a…
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Thais need to have more babies to reverse declining population
A government advisory body is urging the Government to come up with measures to encourage Thais to have more babies. The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has urged the government to implement additional measures to improve the birth rate in Thailand, following a recent study detailing the impact of a shrinking population. Thailand, with the fertility rate of…
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Alleged drug mule shot dead in clash with troops in Chiang Rai
PHOTO: Chiang Rai and Myanmar border at Mae Sai A drug mule has been shot dead on the border between Chiang Rai and Myanmar, and 350,000 methamphetamine pills were seized following a clash between an Army task force and a group of drug smugglers. The commander of the Pha Muang Taskforce says the incident happened at 12.30am along the Myanmar…
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Government to give cash handouts to oil palm planters
The National Oil Palm Committee, led by Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan, plans to give away 1,500 baht per rai cash handout to 150,000 oil palm planters in a massive subsidy for their production cost. The subsidies arrive with almost perfect timing for the ruling NCPO in the lead up to the national election in February and the rise of the…
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Thaiger Radio News – Friday
Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…
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UPDATE: Two foreigners die in high speed road accident in Phuket
Two foreigners, riding a powerful motorbike, have died at the scene of the crash, after colliding with a car in Chalong. Chalong Police were notified of the incident at 11.30pm on Chao Fa West Road near a local seafood restaurant. Police and rescue workers arrived to find the car with damage on its front right side. Chalong Police report that…
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‘Recognise all citizen’s right to create a family’ – Rainbow Sky Association
by Pratch Rujivanarom. PHOTO: Prasert Thepsri “LGBT activists are calling on the Thai government to recognise all citizen’s right to create a family.” The Nation reports that both the Civil Code’s marriage law and the new Life Partnership Bill are in violation of the Constitution’s gender-equality principle, gender-diversity campaigners asserted as they pressed for full marriage equality rather than a two-tier…
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Vale Matt Pond
PHOTO: Facebook/Marisa Sirirat Pond The Thaiger would like to acknowledge the passing of one of Phuket’s finest journalists, Matt Pond. Matt died peacefully yesterday morning surrounded by members of his family. Matt had worked with Class Act Media (The Phuket News) for five years and was a tireless contributor to the island’s only weekly newspaper. Apart from general news, Matt…
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DSI calls for dissolution of foundation funding Dhammakaya cult
“The foundation operates as a quasi-Buddhist cult and commands adherents to its teachings from around the world.” The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is calling on public prosecutors to request the courts to dissolve the Khun Yay Maha Ratana Upasika Chandra Khonnokyoong Foundation. The Foundation was implicated in the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative (KCUC) embezzlement case. The DSI say they…
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Mother killed by moving train, 2 year old daughter survives
A mother and her 2 year old daughter fell from a train at a station in Nakhon Si Thammarat. The mother died while the girl survived with minor injuries. The incident took place at the Klong Chandee railway station at 10am this morning. Police say 21 year old Benjawan Duangsuwan died at the scene. Her daughter was sent to Por Than…
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31 year old British tourist arrested in Chiang Mai – Drugs and overstay
PHOTO: Sanook A 31 year old man has been arrested in Chiang Mai yesterday for alleged use of crystal methamphetamine (ice) and overstaying his visa. Police arrested British tourist, Benjamin John Soulsby at his rented house in a housing estate in Tambon Tonpao, Kamphaeng district, following a tip-off from the house owner that his tenant appeared to be high on…
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Internal disputes in the Future Forward camp
PHOTO: The Future Forward Party secretary general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul campaigns in Rayong province earlier this week – Future Forward Party The new Future Forward Party has removed its youth wing leaders from duties and is accusing them of misusing party funds. The allegations are being denied by one of the expelled members. Khaosod English is reporting that a party spokeswoman…
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