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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Moving to Thailand offers a prospect full of excitement and adventure, but in the same vein, if any injuries were to occur (and god forbid it does), the local healthcare system can be confusing at first glance for many expats...
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Chalong villagers being expelled from land
Villagers from Satonpoh Community in Chalong gathered at the Provincial Hall today (December 12) to file a letter to the Governor, calling for help for re-location after getting expelled from privately owned land. Somjin Chuchuay, the representative of the community, explained that the land was initially a tin mine. According to Phuket Provincial Industry Office, the land belongs to the…
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The can of worms makes its way to Damrongtham Centre
Sarantip Chaeton, who earlier found worms in a can of fish, has visited the Damrongtham Centre at the Provincial Hall today (December 12) asking for some answers from the manufacturer. Read the original story HERE. She told staff at the Damrongtham Centre that the Office of Consumer Protection Board in Phuket informed her that there would be a staff from…
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Missing Ukranian swimmer turns up – alive and well
Happy ending for our missing Ukranian man. Original story HERE. The missing Ukrainian man, 27 year old Mykhailo Ryboichuk who went missing on December 10 has been found safe today (December 12). It ends up that he was just going for a swim, got out of the water when he had finished, didn’t tell others that he’d returned and went…
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Amphetamine crackdown in Krabi worth 10 million baht
This morning (December 12), Krabi police arrested 28 year old Jirasak Wongsa-Ad and 22 year old Apinan Matboonnoi at a house in Ao Luek district with 48,000 amphetamine pills. The 48,000 amphetamine pills were found wrapped in white plastic buckets and buried near a banana tree in the backyard of the house. Police also seized other items at the house,…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, December 12
Thailand hits the World Number One spot for road deaths | Change.org calls for Prawit to ‘step down’ | The world’s tallest pagoda burns down | Toon, down with a cold, is back on track today | EU resumes political relations with Thailand | ‘Butt boys’ back home in San Diego.
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TUESDAY MORNING BRIEFING – All your local news in 3 minutes
Welcome to your Tuesday in Phuket. Another excellent day on the way with only a 10% chance of rain later on. The forecast says ‘Mostly sunny’. Back to work and school following your day off (if you were lucky enough to have a long weekend). Here’s today’s main headlines… Change.org calls for General Prawit to step down An online campaign…
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New Phuket bus schedule App
The Phuket Land Transport Office is launching a new application called “Bus Beam” connecting people with public transportations, gathering all the schedules for bus services around Phuket. There are 6 bus operators who have joined the application so far. The Deputy Director General of Land Transport Department, Cherdchai Sanansrisakorn along with Phuket’s Vice Governor, Prakob Wongmaneerung, chaired the opening ceremony…
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Tourist disappears after swimming off Patong Beach
A 27 year old Ukrainian tourist disappeared after swimming off Patong Beach last evening (December 10). A team of Patong lifeguards along with the Kulsoldham Phuket Foundation volunteers combed the beach area following a report that a tourist had gone missing at about 6.30pm (sunset last night was at 6.09pm). A boat driver, who is a witness, says that he…
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‘Butt Boys’ released from jail. Heading home to US.
Two American men who were arrested in Thailand for posting naked photos to Instagram have reportedly been released from jail and are heading home to San Diego. 38 year old Joseph Dasilva and his 36 year old husband Travis Dasilva were arrested at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport last month after images posted to their ‘Travelling Butts’ Instagram account showed…
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Surprise proposal at Phukethon
The mini-marathon runner at yesterday’s Phukethon, Pakornkij Kanchanaroj, made a surprise proposal to his girlfriend, Nannapat Saepua, after finishing the run together. The groom has revealed that the couple are from Nakhon Si Thammarat. He is a power plant engineer and his future wife is a social work officer and they have been together for 9 years. The two families…
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Skull of the anonymous corpse found in Thalang drain, found.
Following the case early yesterday where a man’s body was found without its head in Thalang (story HERE), police have discovered his skull in a watercourse in Baan Lipon, Thalang (December 10) after a three hour search. After finding the body, police conducted a survey by walking along the watercourse at 9 am Sunday from the scene backwards to Lan…
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MONDAY MORNING BRIEFING – All your local news in 3 minutes
PHOTO: Kata Rocks winds up their 2017 Kata Rocks Superyacht Rendezvous. Enjoy your public holiday today, if you’re lucky enough to have it off. It’s Constitution Day. A beautiful sunny day ahead with just a few clouds. Should be the same for the next three days too. Here’s today’s main news stories…. “I borrowed the watch from a friend” Deputy…
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Military committee summons forensic team to testify over cadet’s death
A fact-finding committee set up by the Supreme Command will invite representatives of the Central Institute of Forensic Science to testify on the autopsy results of a cadet who died at the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School [AFAPS]. ACM Chawarat Marungruang, chairman of the fact-finding, was speaking to journalists after unconfirmed reports about the autopsy were widely shared. According to…
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Thalang & Chalong drug arrests
Thalang police arrested two Phuket men with 4,000 methamphetamine pills whilst Chalong police were busy arresting a man from Surat Thani with 3,474 methamphetamine pills along with 109 grams of crystal methamphetamine. The two cases have an estimated street value in excess of 2 million baht. On December 8, Thalang police arrested 24 year old Jirapat Samranrat and 24 year…
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Headless corpse found in a Thalang drain
Thalang police received a report about a dead body found in a drain on Thepkasattri Road in Thalang heading towards Phuket Town last night (December 9). At the scene, police found a large crowd crowded around a drain with a strong smell coming from it. After opening it up, police found a decayed male body without his head. The man…
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SUNDAY MORNING BRIEFING – All your local news in 3 minutes
Sunday, Sunday. The Phukethon has been run and won, the Phuket King’s Cup wraps today and the Kata Rocks Superyacht Rendezvous has their big closing party tonight for the mega-yachts visiting the island. Even though districts around Phuket are suffering severe flooding, including just north in Phang Nga, Phuket is waking up to a fine day ahead with only a…
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International Anti-Corruption Day. Zero tolerance with corruption in Phuket.
Phuket Governor Norapat Plodthong chaired the opening of the International Anti-Corruption Day event at Phuket Rajabhat University today (December 9) under the concept ‘Zero Tolerance with Corruption’. The Governor said during the opening that the United Nation has set December 9 of every year to be the International Anti-Corruption Day to raise world’s awareness about the major impact from corruption.…
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Blade Runner. Cool tech gives Cola new legs.
After a first set of prosthetics, Cola now has new ‘bouncy’ blades to run on. Cola the two-legged dog has scored an Asian first – he’s the first dog in the world to be fitted with blades of the kind used by Paralympic sprinters. And he took to his new legs like a champion, racing up and down the beach…
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How much would you pay to get your dog groomed? 2800 baht?!
The husky seems to be the only one with a smile on his face. A Facebook Live post by a 32 year old Chachoengsao man complaining about “Thailand’s most expensive dog bathing fee of 2,800 baht” for his Siberian Husky has become a hot topic attracting more than 10,000 comments, nearly 400,000 views and 5,000 shares in 10 hours after…
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SATURDAY MORNING BRIEFING – All your news in 3 minutes
Saturday – Ahh, the weekend. Many things happening around the island. Tonight you have another Boat Lagoon Weekend night of music, crafts, food, entertainment and chilling. Starts at 6pm. Also the Kata Rocks Superyacht Rendezvous on today as the fleet makes its way from Kata Rocks to The Surin for a beach party – you’ll see some magnificent vessels making…
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Road closures for the Phukethon Marathon on Sunday
The upcoming Phukethon 2017, with the Marathon being run on December 10, will force some roads to be closed down for the duration of the running event. Drivers are invited to plan ahead to avoid the runners on this date. More than 10,000 runners are coming to Phuket this weekend for the Phukethon event. The marathon is scheduled to start…
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Better training. Better lifeguards. Two day training course completed at Patong.
Two days training for hotel staff, tour operators and budding beach lifeguards has been completed at Patong Beach. 98 people attended the two day training course. There’s also the Phuket Life Saving Championships 2017 at Lama Park on Patong Beach this Sunday, December 10. The competition will include iron-man beach sprints, board relay, a surf race, board rescue events and…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, December 8
Prawit’s been given 30 days to ‘please explain’ | Flood crisis in Nakhon Si Thammarat | Last night’s island downpour | Australian couple in hospital with mounting bills following bike accident | 50,000 SIM cards seized on the Cambodian border.
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FRIDAY NEWS BRIEFING – All your news in 3 minutes
PHOTO: A Province-wide drama unfolding in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Patong wakes up this morning to start mopping up the heavy flood waters from last night. Heavy rain pelted Phuket’s party town, and other parts of the island, from around 10pm for four hours. Yesterday morning Patong also had heavy floods leading to two electricity poles along the Patong – Karon…
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Prachasamakkee villagers block land office from measuring land border
During a visit at the Prachasamakkee Community today (December 7), the team at the Phuket Provincial Land Office and the lawyer of the plaintiff against the villagers were not allowed to check the measurement of the village land to make a plan to file to the court. The villagers claim that the 77 defendants haven’t had any appointment for the…
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PHUKET KING’S CUP – Day Three report. Lay day today.
Perfect breezes at 12-15 knots on top of two whole days of strong wind had the swells riding higher today, and conditions that were way more “Rock ‘n’ Roll”. Kevin Whitcraft’s THA72 crew has a very credible early claim on regatta glory, as does Team Kata Rocks (Peter Dyer’s Madam Butterfly) in IRC2. Premier Class, IRC1, the one-design Pulse 600…
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, December 7
Two fallen electrical poles cause traffic disruption this morning | Severe flooding in Nakhon Si Thammarat | No 3-Star Michelin restaurants in BKK | NACC chasing an explanation from Prawit | Phramongkutklao Hospital bomber sent to jail.
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Patong Tunnel update
Patong Mayor, Chalermluck Kebsup, has provided an update about progress on the long-mooted infrastructure project. She says the proposal has now passed the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) stage and will be considered by the main planning committee soon. “After we checked with the Expressway Authority of Thailand, who is responsible for the project, we found out that the tunnel project…
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THURSDAY MORNING BRIEFING – All your news in 3 minutes
A lot of rain overnight so there has been some wet and slippery roads around the island this morning. Patong Police Station, as usual, suffers when there’s heavy rain. More racing down at Kata today for the Phuket King’s Cup. Nakhon Si Thammarat is really copping heavy rains and our Deputy PM is being asked ‘please explain’ about his ‘bling’.…
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No Michelin Three Star restaurants in Bangkok
The inaugural Michelin Guide Bangkok on Wednesday announced 14 one-starred and three two-starred restaurants at its debut at Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok. No restaurant was awarded the ultimate accolade of three stars. Making its debut at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok on Wednesday, the first edition of the Michelin Guide Bangkok announced the 14 restaurants that have been awarded one…
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