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The Great Krathong Clean-up
PHOTO: The Nation A total of 841,327 krathong floats, most made with degradable materials, were collected in Bangkok after last night’s celebrations Bangkok Metropolitan Administration governor Aswin Kwanmuang said on Friday. Aswin said BMA workers finished sorting the collected floats at 5am. The floats were collected from the Chao Phraya River and canals and 30 public parks where Loy Krathong…
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Wanted UK brothers arrested during a raid in Chonburi
PHOTO: Thai Immigration Bureau Thai Immigration have filled in the details of an armed night raid earlier this week at a Chonburi hotel. The men arrested have been named as 43 year old Joseph Mulhare and his 38 year old brother Gregory Mulhare. Their arrest followed a cat and mouse game as the pair moved from Pattaya to Bangkok before…
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New passenger terminal and facilities launched Krabi airport
The Minister of Transportation has officially launched a new terminal at the Krabi International Airport this week. Transport Minister Arkom Termpittayapaisith officially officiated at the launch of the new passenger terminal at the airport yesterday. New common-use check-in counters were also launched at the ceremony. Khun Arkom says, “The construction contract has already been running since August 28 last year. The…
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Former honorary consul arrested in Phuket for selling counterfeit visa stamps
FILE PHOTO Police have arrested a former honorary consul for allegedly producing counterfeit entry visa stamps and immigration documents and selling them to Russians wishing to come to Thailand. The Nation reports that Pol Maj-General Surachete Hakparn, acting immigration department chief, said the arrest of Kuliushin Vitalii in Phuket province was in response to a court-ordered arrest warrant against him.…
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Airbnb launches ‘Airbnb Plus’ in Bangkok and Phuket
Airbnb, the community-driven travel platform, welcomes its next stage of growth in Thailand with the launch of Airbnb Plus in Bangkok. Come December, Airbnb Plus will also be available for bookings in Phuket, Asia’s number one resort destination. Airbnb Plus is a selection of homes of the highest quality offered by hosts with great reviews and attention to detail. As…
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Uncertainty in Bangkok’s residential property market – CBRE
CBRE, an international property consultancy company, is reporting ‘looming uncertainty’ in the Bangkok residential property market. Although developers have recently increased their launches of condominiums, sales to Thai buyers have slowed in some locations and are likely to slow further with the coming imposition of tighter mortgage lending. Some developers are trying to find locations where there is real demand from…
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Thaiger Radio News – Friday
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Dead Canadian found on yacht at Ocean Marina Yacht Club
A Canadian tourist has been found dead on his yacht at a marina in Chon Buri’s Sattahip, south of Pattaya, early today. The Na Jomtien police were informed at 2.30am that 61 year old Tourville Gilbert had died on his yacht that was docked at the Ocean Marina Yacht Club in Tambon Na Jomtien. A doctor has determined that he…
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Walk on the wild side – the new Mahanakhon SkyWalk
YIKES! Is there anything more terrifying than a ride in a border visa-run passenger van? We think we’ve found it. The Mahanakhon SkyWalk – Thailand’s highest observation deck and rooftop bar at 314 metres high – offers spectacular panoramic views of Bangkok from Thailand’s tallest building. But that’s not the really scary bit. The new premium attraction, now open to…
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Southern Muslim leaders disapprove of LGBT partner bill
“Only in the South has our public forum on the Life Partnership Bill heard opposition.” Muslim leaders in Thailand’s South have rejected the proposed Life Partnership Bill, which would allow LGBT couples to marry. The Nation reports that, if the bill becomes law, the religious leaders say they will not perform marriage rituals for LGBT couples. No religious leader is…
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Three paper factory warehouses catch fire in Samut Prakan
Firefighters continued to tackle a huge fire at a recycled paper factory in Samut Prakan, just south of Bangkok, into the early hours of this morning after flames destroyed three warehouses. Initially, some 100 fire engines were dispatched to the Thai Development Industrial Paper Company in Tambon Thay Ban in Muang district at 8pm last night (Wednesday). At first, firefighters…
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Half a tonne of marijuana seized…
.. and no one has come to claim it yet. Khon Kaen police have seized 500 kilograms of marijuana after a pickup truck overturned in Khon Kaen’s Ban Phai district early today. But no arrests have been made as yet. The Nation reports that Pol Lt Gen Surachai Khuantejakup, commissioner of the Provincial Police Bureau 4, told a press conference…
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Midday Loy Krathong in Krabi
Locals in Plai Praya, Krabi couldn’t wait until tonight. They’ve floated their ‘Krathongs’ at midday today inside a cave – the only place in Thailand that floats Krathongs inside a cave. At 11am inside the Warin Cave in Plai Praya, Krabi, a local tourist attraction more than 100 locals joined in the Thai traditional ‘Loy Krathong’ festival. Many tourists enjoyed…
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South Korean local company owner falls to his death in Chiang Mai
PHOTO: Sanook Sanook has reported that a Korean man has died after jumping from a flat roof on a department store in Huay Kaew Road, Chiang Mai. CCTV shows the man at the view point yesterday, according to Chang Pheuak police. Three or four other tourists were also enjoying the view at the same location. Another person came onto the…
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Drive Thru Immigration service officially launched
The Phuket Immigration Office yesterday officially launched a Drive Thru Service to help solve crowding problems in the main offices and the lack of parking spaces. The acting chief of Immigration, Maj Gen Surachete Hakparn and the Phuket Immigration Office Chief Col Kathathorn Kamthieng led the officially launch ceremony for ‘Immigration Drive Thru Service’ yesterday. Col Kathathorn says, “The number of foreigners…
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STOP PRESS: Thai woman rips off Thai man
PHOTO MONTAGE: Thai Rath Thai Rath is reporting that a Thai man has learned the hard way; that not every Thai woman on dating apps is a beautiful girl who wants to get to know you. The man says that the woman he met was very pretty and spoke so well. Within two days the couple were chatting on LINE chat,…
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Thaiger Radio News – Thursday
Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…
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Police intercept 5 million methamphetamine pills in Chiang Rai
PHOTO: Chiang Rai Times “An estimated 5 million meth pills were found in 13 boxes.” Two suspected drug mules have been arrested in Chiang Rai while allegedly trying to smuggle 5 million methamphetamine pills from a border village. The arrests were made last night (Wednesday) at 9.30pm in the border Mae Saruay district. The arrest were made after police and…
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Bangkok all ready for tonight’s Loy Krathong
Yesterday, Governor Aswin Kwanmuang checked nine piers along the Chao Phraya river, from Tha Chang to Rama VIII Bridge in Bangkok’s Bang Plat district. to ensure the safety of revellers for today’s Loy Krathong festivities. People traditionally release flower-decorated floats in the country’s waterways on the day to pay homage to the River Goddess. “All piers have been checked for…
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18 children dead as officials try to fight vaccine denial – Measles outbreak
“Young kids should avoid known infected areas, and patients should be quarantined.” Measles has now infected 2,280 people in the South and killed 18 in the mainly Muslim border provinces already this year. The largest group affected were young children up to the age of four. “Measles vaccination is free and is in line with Islamic principles,” Songkhla’s public-health chief…
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New Suvarnabhumi airport terminal on hold
The AoT (Airports of Thailand) has put the new second terminal plans on hold awaiting reports and opinions from stakeholders and even the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Two key organisations have been fierce critics of the new terminal, well overdue to help take the load off the already-over-capacity main terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. The Architects Council of Thailand…
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Fast-lane online visa system launched at Thai airports
The Immigration Bureau acting commissioner Pol Maj-General Surachate Hakparn has officially launched the e-Visa on Arrival system today that is expected to cut visa processing times to as little as one minute and reverse the downward trend of Chinese tourist visitation. Surachate launched the new system which been trialled at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports since November 15. The launch…
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Confusion reigns over ‘proof of earnings’ letters for Retirement Visa
A letter crossed the desk of The Thaiger today. Not the first on this topic. Seems to be a growing chorus of concerned people on the ‘Retirement Visa’. We share this person’s despair and worries about the future and this vexatious problem. Name withheld due to privacy… “My visa renewal date is February 7. I inquired at the immigration office…
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Three arrested over copycat killings over school rivalry
“The three suspects were arrested on Monday for premeditated murder.” A technical-school student, accused of shooting dead a young man from a rival school on October 12, says they were retaliating for the killing of a former student from their school. Police say one of the three arrested suspects told them his gang from Pathumwan Institute of Technology was avenging…
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Thanyapura Health & Sports Resort and Laguna Phuket win at 2018 Asia Sports Industry Awards
More than 400 attended the Oscars for Asia’s sports industry. Sports industry professionals from around the world walked the 2018 SPIA Asia – Asia’s Sports Industry Awards & Conference red carpet yesterday (November 20) and at a lavish Awards Gala attended by more than 400 VIPs, federations, rights holders, agencies and brands, Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in 20 award…
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Region 8 Police pre-Loy Krathong crime blitz
The Region 8 Police have seized more than 3 million methamphetamine pills and more than 100 firearms during a week of drugs and crimes crackdowns before Loy Kratong, from seven provinces. Detail were revealed at a press conference at the Region 8 Police headquarter in Mai Khao. From November 13-18, before the Loy Kratong festivities tomorrow, police arrested a total…
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Cabinet agrees to bail out rubber planters and tappers
The Cabinet has approved in principle to pour 18.6 billion baht in aid packages to help the beleaguered rubber plantation owners and rubber tappers. The rubber industry says they’re being affected by falling rubber prices. Under the aid package, according to Thai PBS, the government will offer a handout of 1,800 baht for each rai of rubber plantation but not…
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12 drug suspects arrested with crystal meth and pills
12 drug suspects have been arrested with a total of 1,964.5 grams of crystal methamphetamine (ice) and 137 methamphetamine pills in Phuket. Officer first arrested two suspects and later arrested the other 10. On November 18 officers arrested three drugs suspects, 27 year old Suwat Tongtoe, 27 year old Wittaya Seesakrom and 29 year old Keerati Yodpanya. Officers seized 57.25…
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Thai Environment Day – December 4
December 4 every year is declared Thai Environment Day. This year, according to Thai Residents, leading department stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores will not be giving away any plastic bags on that date (there’s a list of the participating stores below). “The main goal, since the establishment of December 4 to be the national environmental day is to educate the…
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