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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More than 80 dance groups from around Thailand compete in “SHOW DC Dance Battle Revolution”
Dancers from all around Thailand took part in the recent SHOW DC Dance Battle Revolution 2018, which saw more than 80 dance groups going head-to-head for the inaugural championships crowns in three categories: B-Boy, Hip Hop and Cover Dance. Held at the popular shopping mall and entertainment mega-complex in Rama 9 area of Bangkok, prizes worth more than 100,000 baht…
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Phuket Immigration wind up ‘Operation X-ray Outlaw Foreigner’ crackdown
Phuket Immigration officers say they’re committed to the national crackdown called Operation X-ray Out Law Foreigner, especially on overstayers. As a show of force yesterday, more than 252 officers from the Phuket Immigration Office, the Royal Thai Army, the Royal Thai Navy, the Phuket Provincial Police, Highway Police, Tourist Police and Marine Police assembled at the Phuket City Police Station.…
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Mu Pa make their American TV debut and get a surprise visitor
In their first in-studio interview since their harrowing time in the Tham Luang caves in June/July, the coach and 12 members of the Mu Pa soccer team sat down with American chat show queen, Ellen Degeneres to talk about their experience and how they stayed hopeful for 10 days trapped in the cave. Plus, the boys’ soccer idol, Zlatan Ibrahimovic,…
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‘Monk’ tries some alternative enlightenment
Thai Rath has shared a widely viewed CCTV clip featuring a man, apparently a monk, in saffron robes swinging a beer bottle at a man in a food market. The alleged monk appears to be holding a beer bottle. According to Thai Rath, the layman, believed to be a store-holder, confronted the monk asking why he was drinking beer in the…
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Man kills himself outside his home in Thalang
A Thai man has shot himself at a house in Thalang today. When Police and rescue workers arrived at the Suppamas housing estate in Paklok about noon, they discovered the body of 66 year old Somnueak Chanapan, a former staff member of the Khao Phra Thaew Non Hunting Area, on a chair in front of the house. Bullet wounds were found on…
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Two hour chase for escaped suspect in Krabi
Krabi Police took two hours to catch a suspect who successfully escaped whilst being prepared for a visit to court yesterday. The suspect is 20 year old Tanin Pueakkhwan from Krabi. Tanin was arrested on October 12 after stealing a truck battery. He was waiting to be transferred to the Krabi Provincial Court. While officers were preparing the court documents,…
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Tour operators boycott visits to Similan and Surin islands to protest new restrictions
The tour operators have had enough of the winding back of tour boat operations and are now resorting to boycotting and ‘disrupting’ the tours in order to get their protests heard. About 50 tour operators in Phuket and Phang nga say they’re suspending boat trips to Similan-Surin islands in the Andaman sea (off the coast of Phang-Nga) today and tomorrow…
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Thaiger Radio News – Monday
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Minivan driver escapes serious injury after colliding with an ice truck in Thalang
A minivan diver has escaped serious injury after colliding into the back of an ice truck yesterday in Thalang. Thalang Police were notified about the incident on Thepkrasattri Road, southbound, near the Srisoonthorn Temple (Wat Baan Pohn). Police and rescue workers arrived to find a minivan driver with the front almost totally destroyed. No passenger were inside the minivan at…
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Similans re-open with tight new restrictions
by Pratch Rujivanarom The number of visitors to the Similan Islands will be capped at 3,850 people per day as part of new tourism management reforms to preserve the pristine natural beauty of the islands and promote sustainable eco-tourism. When Mu Koh Similan National Park reopens today, tourists will discover some changes on the islands; they will find more tranquil beaches…
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Chiang Rai’s Suwit Jaipom unveils charcoal portrait of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej
PHOTOS: localnews2010.com A Chiang Rai Artists, Suwit Jaipom, has unveiled a portrait of the late HM King Rama IX, that he has recently created to mark the second anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s passing. At his studio in Ban Pang Lao in the capital district of Chiang Rai, Suwit Jaipom, the president of ArtBridge Chiang Rai and local artist, has created…
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Man attacks woman in the street, captured on video
A video of a man publicly punching a woman in the face has gone viral on Thai social media. There is no indication where the incident happened. The clip, viewed 3.8 million times (as of Sunday 5pm), shows a man in a black t-shirt punching a woman in the face before taking her away. The woman then gets on the…
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Murdered Bangkok woman found in Hua Hin
by Wimon Thabkhong and Apichat Hongsakul The body of a 39 year old Bangkok woman, with multiple stab wounds in the neck, has been discovered stuffed in a large plastic box in the toilet of a rented house in Hua Hin district, Prachuap Khiri Khan province today (Sunday). The woman, who doctors estimate has been dead for three days before the…
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‘Ailing’ monk hangs himself from a tree in Uttradit
by Boonpim Baiya A monk appears to have committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree behind his temple in Uttaradit, a northern province. Police were contacted at 7am this morning by a fellow monk in the compound of Wat Wang Kapee. Police, a medical examiner and rescue workers headed to the temple to find the body of 58 year old…
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Mu Pa – from Mae Sai to Ellen Degeneres Show in LA
by The Nation/Asian News Network US daytime talk-show queen, Ellen Degeneres, posted on her Facebook page that the Mu Pa soccer team will be appearing on her program tomorrow (US time). “There was no story more captivating this summer than the Thai soccer team trapped in a cave.” She also posted a picture of herself with all the 13 Mu…
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Run out of money? Here’s the ‘how to’ guide to Begpacking.
PHOTO: backslackers.com “Aren’t you technically homeless? Why shouldn’t YOU cash in too. Why shouldn’t other people pay for you to travel? Begpacking (or beg packing) is a way for backpackers like you to earn money while you travel by begging for money or busking around the world.” Thailand has its fair share of ‘beg packers’ each year – young travellers…
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South East Asia tops travellers’ lists
by DataLeads – Asia News Network The Asia Pacific region accounts for 30 per cent of the world’s international tourism receipts. The region outperforms all other regions in terms of growth, with international tourist arrivals increasing an average 7% per year compared to the world average of 4%. China remains one of the leading destinations in Asia. It attracted the highest number…
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Thaiger Radio News – Sunday
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Man’s body found at Bang Pae Waterfalls
PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket Newshawk Phuket reported at 3.22pm today that emergency responders had been called to the Bang Pae Waterfall in Paklok to search for a 25 year old man from Pattani. He had gone swimming in the ponds at the base of the waterfalls, as many do, but vanished prompting the man’s friends to alert officials. At 5.07pm this afternoon…
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Chinese tourists heading elsewhere – what did you expect?
Don Ross of ttrweekly.com reflects on the self-imposed, but unplanned, reduction to Thailand’s tourist numbers – principally Chinese tourist numbers. If there were growing calls to limit or better control the problems of too many tourists, lax Thai safety laws have done part of the job already. Don writes… Just a few months back, the debate in Thailand focused on the…
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Day 4 – Phuket Vegetarian Festival processions ramp up the ‘crazy’
PHOTO: At least he’s taking sun shade wherever he goes – Kritsada Mueanhawong It just gets crazier as the days go by. With the shackles off this year (last year the festivities were subdued due to the impending grand Funeral for HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej), the Vegetarian Festival is back up to full speed. The impression we get is that the…
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Panicked tourism associations call for visa fee exemption for Chinese
The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) wants Chinese tourists to be exempt from having to apply and pay for their single-entry visas when they arrive in the Kingdom. The ATTA is urging the tourism minister to make this change. Vichit Prakobgosol, president of ATTA, says the measure is necessary to draw Chinese tourists back to the kingdom following a…
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UPDATE: British Embassy statement on income letters
Officials knew about problems back in May and say that US nationals will also be affected. The British Embassy in Bangkok has responded to requests for clarification by Thaivisa on the issuing of letters regarding income. They said that they had a meeting with immigration in May and told Thaivisa that they are “not verification experts”. They have also claimed…
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Instagrammer apologises for doing handstand at Wat Pho
A foreign tourist has apologised on his Instagram page for posting a photo of himself doing a handstand in front of a key Buddha image inside the Wat Pho in Phra Nakhon, Bangkok. The tourist, whose Instagram account is soseguri that has 546 followers, deleted the photo and published an apology early on Friday. “I am very sorry for the…
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Thaiger Radio News – Saturday
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Two escape serious injury when a truck overturned in Kamala
PHOTOS: Kamala Police Two people have escaped serious injury after the truck they were travelling in over-turned in Kamala this afternoon. Kamala Police were notified of the accident around 2 pm. Police arrived to find the six wheeler truck over-turned on the side of the road. The truck driver was named by police as 37 year old Somchai Chueaput from Nakhon…
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Maya Bay coral “far from ready”
by Pratch Rujivanrom The corals at Maya Bay are not strong enough yet to withstand the influx of visitors. This latest from the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (DNP) explaining reasons for the indefinite closure of the bay. Though the iconic tourist attraction in Krabi’s Had Nopparat Tara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park has been off limits for…
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Phuket Vegetarian processions continue – Day Three
The Phuket vegetarian street processions continue to amaze, thrill and scare spectators. Thais, expats and foreign tourists are enjoyed watching and participating in some of the processions on day three. The festival will run until October 17 this year. Read more about the launch of this year’s vegetarian festival HERE. Today was the third day of street processions around Phuket Town.…
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Key suspect arrested in 800 million baht bitcoin ‘scam’
Parinya Jaravijit, a key suspect in an alleged 800 million baht bitcoin investment scam, was arrested last night at Suvarnabhumi Airport when he arrived back in Thailand. Parinya – who continues to maintain his innocence – was taken to Ratchadapisek Criminal Court today to apply for his first 12 day detention period (October 12-23). Police have objected to his bail…
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Thaiger Radio News – Friday
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