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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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Holiday nightmare: Aussie tourist killed in Phuket jet-ski collision
PHUKET: A 20-year-old Australian woman was killed in a jet-ski collision with her husband at Kata Beach yesterday evening. The victim, named Emily Collie, suffered severe injuries to her head, neck and shoulders. “Other beachgoers came to her aid and lifeguards administered CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) while waiting for police and rescue workers to arrive,” said Lt Col Patiwat Yordsuan of…
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Phuket hospitals reject migrant insurance
PHUKET: Financial difficulties in the healthcare system is leading to pregnant migrant workers in Phuket Province being denied access to Universal Coverage (UC) health insurance scheme when they deliver babies. Usually migrant workers in Thailand are allowed to buy health insurance in order to get access to affordable services while living in the Kingdom, paying 2,100 baht annually for UC…
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Hotel Report: Russians back, zero-baht backlash, crackdown on illegal hotels
PHUKET: Russian arrivals are back to pre-crisis level while the zero-baht tourism ban curbed Q4 growth, the newly released C9 Hotelworks ‘Phuket Hotel Market Update’ for February says. With total airport arrivals surpassing 7.5 million passengers, Phuket experienced a sharp year-on-year rise of 18 per cent, compared to 13 per cent the previous year. This is largely attributed to the…
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CIA executive unfit due to alleged torture links in Thailand, says Amnesty
BANGKOK: Amnesty International has called for the review of the appointment of Gina Haspel as deputy director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) because of her alleged torture links in Thailand. Erika Guevara-Rosas, Director of the Americas at Amnesty International, issued a press statement that Ms Haspel’s appointment could hamper investigations into alleged torture and enforced disappearance at…
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Abandoned luggage causes bomb scare in Phuket Town
PHUKET: The Explosive Ordnance Unit (EoU) responded to a bomb scare at Yi Teng Intersection in Phuket Town at about 8:30 last night. Phuket City Police officers received reports of an abandoned suitcase that had been left near a garbage bin. Traffic came to a standstill as police arrived at the scene and blocked all incoming traffic to the area…
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Finance: A good time to invest in Phuket
PHUKET: I am asked so often about Phuket real estate that I find it a good topic to address from time to time. Of course, there are legal hurdles to consider, but I will leave that aside for today and focus simply on the issue of timing. Is now a time to be buying or fleeing the island? As with…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Internal Thai clock
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
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Opinion: Taking better care of Phuket’s snakes
PHUKET: Reports that a record number of large snakes were captured by emergency rescue workers in Phuket last month are just the latest indicator of how badly the remaining natural habitats on the island are being destroyed by the relentless ‘development’ that Phuket has undergone in recent decades. Snakes do not rate highly in our anthropomorphic view, which tends to…
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Phuket Gov says nightlife issue to be taken up with PM
PHUKET: A proposal to extend the operating times for nightlife entertainment venues in Phuket will be prepared and presented to Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Phuket Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan has confirmed. The Governor has not revealed an exact date, but asked for strict cooperation from restaurant and bar owners in the ‘meantime’. More than 20 night entertainment venue owners met…
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Party it up like you’re in Ibiza
PHUKET: Did you know that the Balearic island of Ibiza and the Andaman island of Phuket are within a few square miles of being the same size? There are other connections too: quite a large chunk of Ibiza has UNESCO World Heritage status, while Phuket cuisine recently picked up the UNESCO seal of approval. Additionally, a significant and growing chunk…
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Phuket lifeguard quits to protest vendor takeover
PHUKET: A Laem Singh lifeguard quit his job last month after a group of angry umbrella vendors reportedly asked him to remove his government-issued lifeguard tent, claiming the space as theirs. The vendors said they were ‘locals’ and were authorized to use the space to set up umbrellas and mats for rent. Almost exactly a year ago, former Phuket Vice…
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Thai PM receives death threats, orders manhunt
BANGKOK: Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan o cha today said that his government has launched a manhunt for people posting death threats against him and his Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan. “I want to ask them [who posted] where they got the information. I think Thai expatriates overseas who regularly insult the Monarchy mentioned the assassination first,”…
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Another foreign tourist killed on Phuket’s roads
PHUKET: Another foreign tourist in Phuket, this time a young Turkish man, died in a motorbike crash in Kathu District at about 10pm last night. The incident occurred near the Red Mountain Golf Course. Police and rescue workers arrived at the scene to find Hussain Cengiz Coskun, 24, lying on the road next to an electric pole with severe head…
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British man found suffocated in Phuket
PHUKET: A British man from Liverpool was found dead with a plastic bag taped around his neck at a house in Rawai yesterday afternoon. His partner, Rasamee Khaigarb, contacted Capt Somkiet Sarasit of Chalong Police to report the incident at about 4pm. The policeman arrived at the scene with rescue teams. “We found the 55-year-old man lying face up with…
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Video: Lovelorn student asks to be shot at Phuket police station
PHUKET: A student from Phuket Wittayalai School ran into Phuket City Police Station wielding a two-inch knife yesterday evening and urging officers to “shoot me”. “Reports from officers and other witnesses at the station, as well as evidence from CCTV footage, shows that the boy approached the counter and pointed the knife at himself,” said Col Komon Osiri of Phuket…
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‘Most beautiful’ girl in Krabi crowned
KRABI: Pamela Pasinetti won the Miss Grand Krabi 2017 beauty pageant last weekend, and is on her way to compete in Miss Grand Thailand 2017. The Miss Grand competition involves the selection of the ‘most beautiful’ girl in a particular province. Once the girl is chosen, she gets a chance to compete in the larger Miss Grand Thailand competition –…
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100,000 baht found on Phuket temple beggar
PHUKET: A crippled Thai beggar with a hidden ‘money-belt’ was arrested last night after police received complaints from visitors at the Chalong Temple Fair. Lt Col Parinya Tanthasuwan of Chalong Police received reports of the 67-year-old man harassing locals and foreigners at about 7pm, and called in Supparuek Pinyo from the Phuket Province Social Development and Society office. “We first…
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Phuket school assembly disrupted by parked car
PHUKET: A picture of a car parked in the middle of a school assembly in Phuket is making the rounds on the internet this morning. The Facebook post was originally shared by Pairat Kamliang, deputy director of Baan Samkong Municipality School, asking the public to help locate the owner of the car, which is a Toyota Camry Hybrid. Mr Pairat…
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Police cadet orientation marred by exam-cheating arrests
BANGKOK: TEN people suspected to have cheated in a police entrance exam in December were arrested on Tuesday morning as they attended cadet orientation at a Police Club in Bangkok. Arrest warrants were issued for at least 51 students regarding the case last month (story here). “The 10 men, accused of copying exam answers from others, were wanted on charges…
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His Majesty’s pictures lead sea gypsies to victory
PHUKET: About a hundred emotional Rawai sea gypsies gathered outside a Phuket court that ruled in their favor this morning, resolving years of disputes about land ownership and encroachment. Coconut trees in the pictures of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 1959 visit to the area rank among key pieces of evidence that acquit four long-time residents of land encroachment charges.…
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Phuket’s snakes have no place to go
PHUKET: The Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation Phuket has reported that at least 16 reticulated pythons were captured from people’s homes in Kathu and Phuket City this month. “We classified the reptiles by weight; five of them weighed under 5kg and were released into the Khao Phra Thaew Nature and Wildlife Education Center Non-hunting restricted area,” Phongchart Churhom, head of the Khao…
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Panicked Phuket elephant rampages into forest
PHUKET: Police and livestock officers shot a runaway elephant with five tranquilizer darts after he panicked and ran loose at a camp in the Nakkerd Hills yesterday morning. Staff from the elephant trekking camp located in Soi Yodsanee, Chalong, called in officers from the Phuket Livestock Office and Chalong Police for help at about 10:30am, after the elephant, named ‘Plai…
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Looking Back: The rise and fall of Chiang Mai
PHUKET: Chiang Mai has existed as a city for over 700 years. It is older than Bangkok and probably as old as Sukhothai. In the past, Chiang Mai was the capital of the Kingdom of Lanna, an independent kingdom rich in resources and unique in its culture and traditions. The city was founded by King Mengrai, who came to the…
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Phuket pockets billion-baht infrastructure budget
PHUKET: A billion-baht budget for infrastructure development for 2017-2018 has been approved for Phuket, Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan announced last week. The budget is slated to improve traffic congestion and overall infrastructure development in Phuket, including building, extending and maintaining roads; installing CCTV cameras; burying overhead cables; beach development; and building and maintaining underpasses. Additionally, Governor Chokchai has re-ignited interest in…
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Electrical malfunction believed to be cause of Patong nightclub fire
PHUKET: The cause of a fire at ‘Seduction’ discotheque on Soi Bangla, Phuket’s infamous party street, is believed to be an electrical malfunction in a ceiling fan. The fire started at about 7:45pm on Saturday. Six firetrucks arrived at the scene, with firefighters working for at least two hours to calm the flames that took over and extensively damaged the…
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Finance: The markets are aiming higher
PHUKET: At the start of 2017, much of the media coverage about the stock market was focused on the Dow Jones reaching the 20,000 level, with some commentary about how the ‘January Effect’ or ‘January Barometer’ theories could help the market. Before discussing what I believe technical indicators are predicting, we need to debunk any theories that claim to predict…
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Opinion: Protecting the Kingdom’s gentle giants
PHUKET: Recent damage to three vehicles by a couple of needle-shy elephants in Phuket is unfortunate (story here and here), but the incidents give cause to reflect on the state of elephants in Thailand. Not only is the elephant Thailand’s ‘national animal’, it also featured on Siamese flags for almost 100 years before the creation of the modern Thai State.…
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Owner reunited with lost Chinese envelopes
PHUKET: A stack of red envelopes filled with cash left behind at a Phuket Town restaurant were returned to their original owner within a few hours with the help of a Facebook post last night. The red envelopes, known as ‘hóngbao‘, are generally distributed to employees, or to children during the Chinese New Year celebrations. “At about 4pm yesterday, I…
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Thai official released after paintings theft in Japan
JAPAN: A senior-level Thai Intellectual Property Department official, who has admitted to stealing three paintings worth 15,000 yen (4,684 baht) from a Japanese hotel, was released from custody in Japan yesterday, a Thai Foreign ministry spokesman says. The release came after representatives of the Royal Thai Consulate General in Osaka negotiated the payment of compensation to the Kyoto hotel that…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Wearing cold weather gear
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
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