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Sponsored Planning to extend your Thai visa? Why health insurance is more important than ever
If you plan to stay longer in Thailand, having health insurance is now more important than ever. Thai immigration often asks for proof of medical coverage when you apply to extend your visa. This applies to many types of visas,...
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Phuket Governor requests 38 million baht to finally finish Provincial Hall
The Governor of Phuket, Phakaphong Tavipatana, confirms he has requested 38 million baht for the long-awaited completion of Phuket Provincial Hall on the south side of Phuket town. Last October, he had asked for a new contractor to be appointed by December, but that never happened. It’s understood he has now filed a request with the Ministry of Interior in…
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UN director says more needs to be done to fight corruption in Thailand
The chief of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Renaud Meyer, is calling on Thailand’s lawmakers to do more to fight corruption. While acknowledging the country’s efforts so far, he says certain influential figures and groups are a stumbling block to creating a less corrupt society. He was speaking at a conference jointly organised by the UNDP, along with the…
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Thai Government fails to properly address flood victims – Thanathorn
FILE PHOTO Embattled Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has slammed the government for its handling of the current flood situation in the north-east and central Thailand. Speaking in a panel debate on amendment of the Constitution at Khon Kaen University on Sunday, he said he had visited people in Yasothon and Roi Et provinces in past days. He found…
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A drop in Thai visitors to Hong Kong as protests continue
PHOTO: Booking.com The ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong are taking a toll on visitor numbers, with a drop in the number of Thai visitors staying overnight in the territory, according to the Hong Kong Immigration Department. The Bangkok Post reports that the number for July has dropped by 6.6% compared to July 2018. However, the number of single-day visitors…
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Thai Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce call for overhaul of TM30 laws
PHOTO: Stanley Kang, chairman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand, spoke to the Bangkok Post about their concerns over the TM30 debacle Speaking to the Bangkok Post, chairman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce Stanley Kang, says the government needs to review the enforcement of the draconian TM30 (and TM28) immigration reporting regulations The TM30, and…
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Thailand’s War on Sugar, taxes double
The Excise Department says that taxes on sugary drinks will double from October 1, with drinks containing 10 to 14 grams of sugar being taxed at 1 baht per 100 millilitres instead of 0.5 baht per 100 millilitre. But he promises this higher tax won’t be passed on to consumers. Nattakorn Utensut, the department’s deputy spokesman, says most producers of…
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China’s exports fell last month in lead up to next month’s trade talks
China’s exports fell 1% on-year last month amid the bruising trade war with the US that is disrupting markets in the world’s top two economies. The drop comes after a surprise 3.3% rebound in July despite the year-long battle with the US and weakening global demand. But economists cited by Bloomberg had forecast a 2.2% rise ahead of the release of…
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Government not tackling Thailand’s economic woes – poll
Most people regard the government of Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha as lacking the capacity to tackle economic woes – this, the latest results from yesterday’s NIDA poll. The NIDA Poll, prepared by the National Institute of Development Administration, asked 1,260 respondents nationwide about their opinions on the current state of political play. The Nida Poll found that 46.7%t of the…
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Police shoot and kill chef in North Pattaya hotel car park
PHOTO: Naew Na Police are continuing their investigations after a fatal shooting by a police officer in the car park of a North Pattaya hotel last Friday night. Four witnesses were interviewed over the weekend. Naew Na reports that a chef armed with a knife was shot in the head after allegedly resisting police arrest. Patrol officers had responded to…
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Weekend flooding threatens provinces in the Chao Phraya basin
PHOTO: tna.mcot.net The Royal Irrigation Department has issued an urgent flood alert for seven provinces as more water is released from the reservoirs feeding the Chao Phraya dam at Chai Nat province in central Thailand (map below). Residents in the seven provinces are being advised to monitor water levels closely as the water is released. Uthai Thani, Chai Nat, Sing…
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Morning peak chaos in Tokyo after typhoon Faxai passes through
by Kyoko Hasegawa, PHOTOS: AFP “Authorities said more than 2,000 people had taken refuge in shelters opened to accommodate those complying with the evacuation advisories.” A powerful typhoon that battered Tokyo overnight with ferocious winds and driving rain caused is causing commuter this morning, with trains halted and more than 100 flights cancelled. Typhoon Faxai, packing winds of up to…
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Flood waters reach Roi Et in Thailand’s north-east
PHOTOS: Thai Rath Run-off from last week’s heavy rains around Khon Kaen and parts of the north-east, have now made their way to the province of Roi-Et, south east of Khon Kaen. A large number of households and farming areas are now flooded after concrete barriers in Nong Hin Village of Panomprai District were breached by strong currents, according to…
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Wyndham adds two more hotels for Phuket’s south
PHOTOS: Artists impressions of the new Wyndham Nai Harn Resort Phuket Global hotel group Wyndham has announced two more Phuket pipeline hotels. The announcement follows a long list of new developments and openings over the next few years on the island. First for Wyndham, is a 353 key property named the Wyndham Nai Harn Resort Phuket at the popular southern west-coast…
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Police arrest Chiang Rai woman with thousands of counterfeit US$100 bills
PHOTOS: Facebook/32nd Border Patrol Police Counterfeit US dollar banknotes valued more than 16 million baht have been seized at a Chiang Rai house after police organised a sting. A 54 year old woman was arrested over the matter last Thursday. The sting followed a tip off to border patrol police about the fake USD notes being circulated around tambon Rim…
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“If you want to shoot me, get on with it,” British grandmother
A British woman facing the firing squad in Indonesia told British reporters from her Bali prison “if you want to shoot me get on with it”. She faces execution for drug smuggling. The 62 year old drug mule grandmother has abandoned any further legal battles to avoid a date with the firing squad. Lindsay Sandiford was sentenced to death for attempting…
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Non! French say no to a Brexit extension beyond October 31
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says the French government has rejected any further delays to Britain’s exit from the EU, now scheduled for October 31. He acknowledged that the issue is now clouded by the political turmoil in London. The past week of turmoil in the British parliament has forced MPs to cross the floor and bring about three…
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Hundreds of Pattaya tour guides rounded up in crackdown
PHOTOS: Sophon Cable TV A crackdown by the tourist police in Pattaya had resulted in 475 tour guides being fined for disregarding regulations related to tour company business, since the start of 2019. Sophon Cable TV report that local tourist police chief Lt-Col Piyapong Ensarn says eighteen illegal tour guides face a year in prison or fines up to 100,000…
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450 vaping-related cases now reported in the US, 3 deaths, possible links to THC
…and US health officials are trying to isolate the possible causes and if they can link the cases to any particular chemical or product vapers use. Vaping is currently illegal in Thailand with tourists prevented bringing in vaping-related products and refills, and crackdowns on local sellers frequent. Meanwhile, US health officials say they’re now aware of at least 450 possible…
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Phuket’s Katathani Beach Resort land under investigation
The Katathani Phuket Beach Resort, sprawled along Kata Noi’s small beach on Phuket, is the latest subject of investigation by the Phuket Provincial Land Office. The investigation team has been given 30 days to complete its review by the Phuket Governor. The latest investigations are the latest in a tit-for-tat battle between the owners of the Katathani Phuket Beach Resort…
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What goes up must come down – the battle of the baht
Newton’s law looms over the Thai baht. Meanwhile, the Thai baht continues to be the best performing currency in Asia. The Thai currency is riding a 6-year high against the USD and, this year, has surged 8% against the US currency. But the strong baht is causing knock-on effects to the rest of the Thai economy, battering exports and stifling tourist…
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iPhone shares the spotlight with new services at Apple’s annual showcase
by Glenn Chapman The iPhone will be front and center at Apple’s upcoming media presentation even as the California tech giant steps up its efforts in content and services for its devices. In its trademark, tight-lipped style, Apple disclosed little about its plans for Tuesday’s event at its headquarters in the Silicon Valley city of Cupertino. For years now, Apple…
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Tortured ‘Joker’, spurned Polanski, win top prizes at Venice film festival
“Joaquin Phoenix has remade Batman’s arch-enemy as a “Method psycho, a troublemaker so intense in his cuckoo hostility that even as you’re gawking at his violence, you still feel his pain”. “Joker”, a daring take on the comic book villain starring Joaquin Phoenix, won the Golden Lion for best film at the Venice film festival with Roman Polanski controversially taking…
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The China Syndrome, south east Asia’s tourism dilemma
PHOTO: Lunar New Year celebrations in Bali – Jakarta Post “When China sneezes, the rest of south east asia catches a cold.” From quiet markets in Malaysia, empty rooms in Hanoi’s hotels and barren beaches in Bali, China’s economic slowdown and weakening yuan are sending shockwaves felt across south east Asia’s vacation belt. Thailand is just one of many countries…
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Burmese man stabbed to death by ‘friend’ in Patong, Phuket
PHOTO: Phuket People’s Voice Patong Police have arrested 18 year old Robier Aaron, from Myanmar, after he stabbed another Burmese man, 23 year old ‘Johnny’, to death. The incident happened on Friday night (September 6) at around 9pm in front of a restaurant on Phangmuang Sai Gor Road. Police received a report about the attack and found Johnny’s body stabbed…
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Thai monks receive alms then sell them back to traders… mmmm
PHOTOS: Sanook Just another day in Thailand with a social media post about monks seated along a city street appealing for alms at the Asoke market in the business hub of Bangkok. Sanook reports that there were many monks on the footpath as mostly Chinese tourists paid their respects and offered the monks food bought at the market. But an online…
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Boeing suspends testing of new long-haul 777 jet
“A source close to the matter said a door of the plane blew out during the test.” by Luc Olinga Boeing is suspending testing on its new long-haul 777X aircraft, yet another setback as the US aviation giant tries to rebound from the 737 MAX crisis. The so-called “final load” tests are part of the aircraft certification process, overseen by…
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Ride-sharing services to be legal in Thailand by 2020
PHOTO: Grab Thailand’s Transport Minister says that regulatory guidelines have been drafted to pave the way for legalising ride-hailing services by March next year. Ride-hailing organisations currently operate in “legal limbo”, often finding themselves stopped and fined for not being properly registered. New guidelines will require drivers to have a public driver’s licence, vehicles to be registered and equipped with…
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Bill withdrawal my decision, not Beijing’s, says Hong Kong leader
PHOTO: CNN Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam insists that the withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill was her decision, not Beijing’s. The bill was the spark that ignited months of protests in the territory, with clashes between activists and police frequently turning violent. Lam says that while the decision to withdraw the bill is hers, she has Beijing’s full…
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Hurricane Dorian’s death toll in Bahamas 43. Expected to rise.
“You can smell the death in the air,” Bahamas resident. The death toll from Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas has risen to 43, according to US media outlets yesterday, and was expected to grow “significantly.” US network CNN and Bahamas newspaper The Tribune cited Health Minister Duane Sands as confirming the new toll, up from 30. “Forty-three is the official…
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Overhaul of Thai justice system required to deal with prison overcrowding
PHOTO: Scmp.com There are nearly 400,000 people behind bars in Thailand. 70% of the men in prison are there for drug-related offences. In the case of women, it’s 87%. Thailand has the highest number of prisoners in ASEAN, the sixth highest in the world. The notorious overcrowding for which the prisons are known is so bad that an inmate does…
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