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Sponsored Is private health insurance in Thailand worth it? Real costs vs risks explained
Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
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Dress code for local ceremonies on October 26
Many people have been asking for a guide to appropriate clothing if they wish to attend any of the ceremonies on October 26 around Thailand. Anyone will be welcome to attend the Cremation or Royal Flower ceremonies around Phuket on the day but will need to respect the dress code. The dress code for participating to King Bhumibol Adulyadej Rama…
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Russian tourist drowns at Karon red-flagged beach
A 42 year old Russian tourist, Parshukov Ole, drowned at Karon Beach this afternoon (October 15). The area of the beach the man was drowning was designated with red flags, deemed unsafe for swimming with big waves and rip currents. Patong Hospital say that the man was sent to hospital after he was swept by strong waves near Karon Circle.…
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Elephants stampede Rohingya refugee camp
Wild elephants have trampled sleeping Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh yesterday, killing three children and a woman in the second such incident since the arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees from Myanmar since late August. Besides those killed, four refugees from neighbouring tents were injured and were in critical condition at Sadar Hospital in Cox’s Bazar. Meanwhile, Myanmar’s de facto…
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Russian tourists in trouble swimming off Karon Beach
Karon Municipality Tourist Centre saved six foreigners off red-flagged Karon Beach this afternoon (October 14). There were initially two Russian tourists drowning 50 metres ashore. The team from the Royal Thai Navy Area 3 and officers of the Phuket Marine Security Centre used jet-skis and speedboats to fetch the duo and return them to shore safely. A little while later,…
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“Turn your promises into action”. Diplomats urge Myanmar’s Government
United Nations envoys from Britain and France are calling for Burmese authorities to turn their promises into action, end violence and create a situation where the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees can start to return to their homes – the homes they were living in before the violence flared up at the end of August. “Yesterday, we heard Aung…
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PVC warehouse blaze in Phuket Town
At about 11 pm last night (October 13), officers from the Phuket Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office received a report about a fire at a one story warehouse that belongs to the Modern PVC Co. and the K P Modern Group. The facilities are located on Soi Saensuk 1, Phuket Road. The 3 fire trucks took about 30 minutes to…
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Flooding hits Bangkok and Central Thailand
Heavy rains lashed the capital past midnight on Friday and continued into the early hours of Saturday, leading to flooding on many Bangkok roads. At around 7.30am on Saturday, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Drainage Department issued a plea on its Facebook page, urging Bangkokians who have no urgent business to stay home as many roads are still inundated. At 8am,…
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Mourning period extended to October 29
The mourning period for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej will be extended two more days up until October 29. This according to a media release from the Prime Minister’s office. The Royal Funeral is scheduled for October 25 – 29, so the Thai cabinet has extended the official mourning period. The official mourning period is now from yesterday up to…
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Patong shooter surrenders – assisting Police with investigation
34 year old Manas Pongsuppakij, who lives in Patong, surrendered himself to Patong police today (October 13) after getting pressure from the police to report to them as soon as possible. Following a shooting at Hollywood nightclub in Bangla Road, injuring the victim 27 year old Pongwarit Thiptara, to his leg and back, the police were able to track down…
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New legislation: Foreigners can’t own guns
The National Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed the third reading of amendments to the 1947 Weapon, Firearm, Explosive and Firework Act. The amendments were proposed to keep the legislation abreast of weapons’ technology and the changing conditions in society. Weapon silencers and electric darts will also come under the legislation. As well, the amended rules cover fireworks, Bang Fai (locally-made…
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UPDATE: Police interview two men over assault in Pattaya
Thai Visa reports…. Not 72 years old and not Australian The ‘Australian’ pensioner who was floored by a left hook in the parking lot of a Pattaya school on Wednesday after a road rage incident is really British national 77 year old George Collins Thaivisa can reveal. Mr Collins admitted that despite living in Brisbane for many years he considers himself…
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Baggage handler caught stealing from luggage
Airport baggage handler, 27 year old Abdullah Hayee Mayeh, was arrested with a bluetooth speaker on October 12 after his robbery was recorded on video. CCTV cameras caught him trying to open the luggage of a passenger of Jetstar Airways flight on October 10 at Bay 15 at Phuket International Airport while loading luggage onto the aircraft parked on the…
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Shooting at a Patong nightclub
At 3 am this morning, a shooting took place in a famous nightclub in the middle of Bangla Road, Patong. One Thai man was injured. The incident happened when the nightclub was closing down. 27 year old Pongwarit Thiptara was walking past a man when the two accidentally collided inside the club and the man, who he has never seen…
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, October 12
Pheu Thai and investors welcome election date confirmation | Owners with drones have 90 days to register, or else | Soi Cowboy in BKK told to close down | More flights from Thai Airways | An 84 year old academic being indicted over a famous Thai 16th century battle.
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Chalong police arrest two with 100 kilograms of Kratom leaves
Two men, 28 year old Thanachai Ngakaew and 18 year old Ratthapong Tingnui, have been arrested with 42 kilograms of Kratom plants and 60 kilograms of fresh Kratom leaves on October 10. The two were arrested at their rented house in Chalong area after police tracked them for a while after they had allegedly traded the drugs to local…
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Injured turtle found at Nai Harn Beach
Yesterday at 4pm, swimmers at Nai Harn Beach found an Olive Ridley sea turtle near the shore. Its front left leg was severely injured from a trawler or motorboat propeller and its right front leg was mildly cut as well. The lifeguards at Nai Harn Beach contacted Rawai Municipality and the Rare Sea Animal Division of Phuket Marine Biological Centre…
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Hot hotel trends – Branded residences
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com Asia’s property developers are jumping into bed with hotel groups as branded residences flourish. Southeast Asia’s real estate love affair between property developers and hotel brands is morphing into a feeding frenzy. With nearly 100 mainstream hotel residence projects and over 21,000 units completed, the next three years is set to take the sector into…
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More Phuket – Bangkok flights on offer during Royal Funeral week
Thai Airways and Thai Smile Airways will increase their roundtrip daily flights during the Royal Cremation of His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The additional domestic flights will be operated from October 23 to 31 to meet the transport needs of passengers attending the ceremony. Thai Airways will add 11 flights between Bangkok and Phuket and five flights between…
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Political activities may be allowed after October
The junta would discuss loosening its grip on political activities after this month, once the Royal Cremation had passed, said secretary-general of the National Council for Peace and Order General Chalermchai Sitthisart. Chalermchai, also the Army Chief, said the junta would discuss to what extent politicians would be allowed to carry out political activities, given that the political party law…
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Vegetable contamination check for the Vegetarian Festival
Phuket’s Governor, together with the Phuket Mayor, visited Banzan fresh market in Patong today (October 11) to check for any contamination of fresh vegetable and fruits before this year’s Vegetarian Festival. “The Vegetarian Festival starts from October 20 – 28 and there will be a lot more people consuming vegetables and fruits during the festival. These products can be contaminated…
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Reports that Yingluck has asylum status in the UK
Just when you thought we were going to have a Shinawatra-free day, Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai says his ministry would need to verify news reports that former PM Yingluck Shinawatra had gained asylum status in the United Kingdom. Don asked people not to jump the gun and pressure the ministry to take action. He personally preferred to avoid using…
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PM Prayut clarifies election date
PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday announced firmly that the election would be held in November next year, following a previous indication that it would be in June 2019. “For this [election] part, it was said that it would be around June 2018 that there will be the announcement of the election date, and then in November, there will be the…
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Phuket’s cremation ceremony rehearsal set for October 22
Phuket’s Governor, Norapat Plodthong, announced during his press conference “Governor Meets Media” that the cremation ceremony rehearsal for King Bhumibol Adulyadej in Phuket will take place at Sapan Hin Park on October 22. He explained that the ceremony will be set in 3 zones; the closest zone inside is where the wooden flowers and pyre model are placed, the second…
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UPDATE: Beach butt ban
After finding a large amount of cigarettes on Patong Beach following the results of several volunteer beach cleans, the Director General of Marine and Coastal Department announced that from November onward, the department will enforce the law – Section 17 of Marine and Coastal Management Promotion Act – to prohibit smoking on the beach. “After collecting trash from Patong Beach,…
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Banning the butt – cigarette ban on Phuket’s beaches
What is the most numerous item found at the many beach cleans organised by groups around the island? Plastic bottle? Straws? Flip-flops? plastic bags? No. It’s cigarette butts. People smoking on the beach and leaving their butts in the sand are a major contributor to the island’s beach rubbish problem. And it’s not just Phuket. Beaches around the kingdom have…
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Hundreds of share-bikes taken home by renters
Despite excellent feedback on the share-bike initiative and more than a thousand users per day, the share-bike project is suffering from renters who think that the bikes are “giveaways from the government”. Many users have taken the bike back home and using it as a personal belonging. Some of them have even brought their pick-ups and motor-tricycle (samlor) to take…
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New set of tsunami detectors being installed in the Indian Ocean
The National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has sent a transport boat to pick up the existing Tsunami detectors and to deliver a new set to the middle of the Indian Ocean. The new set of tsunami detector systems have been installed on at the latitude 9 degrees North and longitude 89 degrees East position. The installation is taking place from…
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Second tragedy – another car found in California’s Kings Canyon
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office in California has retrieved the bodies of two Chinese passengers and the wreckage of their rental Ford Focus that have been submerged in King’s River since early August. The vehicle was found near where a car containing two Thai students came to rest after plunging off a cliff in late July. The passengers were identified…
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Jail terms for three officials in Phuket land encroachment case
The Criminal Court on Monday handed down prison sentences to all three surviving offenders in the Phuket land-corruption case, while the Land Department was ordered to revoke the land deed at issue in the case. The court sentenced the first defendant, Narong Ounseam, the land surveyor, to five years in jail; the second defendant, Sommit Suebsin, the kamnan of Tambon…
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