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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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Three Russians arrested over alleged property fraud in Pattaya
PHOTO: PattayaupdateNews Chonburi police have arrested three Russians in the car park of the Ocean Portofino Condo, next to Ocean Marina, in Na Jomtien, south of Pattaya yesterday. A 53 year old man and two women, 52 and 28 years of age. All were named in separate arrest warrants, each for fraud. They were taken to Pattaya police station after…
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Mae Hong Son school inundated by flooding in Thailand’s north
The clean up is continuing today at a school for hilltribe children in Mae Hong Son’s Mae Sariang district in far north Thailand was hit by mountain runoff and floodwaters from last week’s heavy rain. The Ban Pho Sor School in Tambon Saohin was inundated by mountain runoff following heavy rains late Friday and into Saturday. The school provides education for…
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The problems with Phuket’s lifeguarding, in plain sight
PHOTO: Patong Surf Lifesaving Club A personal view from a veteran ocean lifeguard After viewing the news and photos today of yet another body retrieval from Phuket’s ocean waters, this latest is unfortunately one in a long-line of such grisly episodes, for as many years as I can remember. And as Kee Lighting and Engineering Company, apparently the contract provider…
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Indian visitors to Phuket surge whilst total numbers drop
by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com The soaring number of Indian visitors to Phuket for the first seven months of 2019 has propelled Indian tourists into the Top 5 arrivals for the first time. Arrivals from India from January – July, compared to the same period in 2018, grew 354%, amassing a total of 186,360 arrivals. Mainland Chinese arrival figures continue…
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Thai police get tough on drivers at pedestrian crosswalks in Pattaya
Police in Pattaya have launched a campaign aimed at encouraging pedestrians to use crosswalks, and fining motorists who don’t stop at them. Speaking at the launch of the campaign, in front of Mueang Pattaya 8 School, Maj Arut Sapanon insists the 1,000 baht fine will be strongly enforced. “This campaign is to encourage pedestrians to use crosswalks in order to…
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Large heroin bust announced in Bangkok
PHOTO: Naew Na The deputy national police has announced the arrest of two suspects in two large drug seizures. Heroin weighing 100 kilograms, plus one and a half kilograms of cocaine were seized. Deputy chief Pol Gen Chalermkiat Srivorakhan made the presentation to the media at the Crime Suppression Division headquarters in Bangkok. The media conference went through the long list of…
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Pet leopard not a hit with neighbours in Chonburi, Thailand
A couple in Chonburi, eastern Thailand, have not ingratiated themselves with neighbours after it was revealed they’re keeping a pet leopard in their home. It’s understood that a Thai woman known as Nittiya, and her foreign husband, nationality unconfirmed, have just recently moved to the area from Chiang Mai, and news of their unusual pet has put neighbours very much…
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Soaring baht continues to court investors and speculators
The Thai baht continues to be the best performing currency in Asia. On a year-on-year basis it has soared more than 8% against the USD and this year reached a six-year high. But the strong currency threatens the country’s exports and tourism, two major drivers of Thailand’s economy. Thailand continues to have solid economic fundamentals, a high current account surplus and…
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China sounds ominous warning to Hong Kong protesters
PHOTO: Vox.com Authorities in China have issued a stark warning to Hong Kong protesters, as reported by the country’s state-run Xinhua News. “The end is coming for those attempting to disrupt Hong Kong and antagonise China.” Beijing is also clear that its words are aimed not just at Hong Kong activists, but equally directed at Western governments attempting to undermine…
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No direct hit from Kajiki, but heavy rain predicted for many parts of Thailand
PHOTO: My-thai.org The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) says tropical storm Kajiki will miss Thailand, but parts of the country are in for some very heavy rain over the next two days. With Kajiki moving west across the South China Sea in the direction of Vietnam, a TMD spokesman says there’s a good chance it may change direction, heading northward towards…
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Chinese passenger detained on suspicion of theft at Suvarnabhumi airport
PHOTO: Bangkok.com Police and security officials at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport arrested a Chinese woman earlier this morning on suspicion of theft. The woman had picked up a money-belt dropped by an Iranian passenger, but failed to hand it in. It’s understood the bag contained US$1,441 in cash and a mobile phone. The Iranian passenger reported his bag missing to airport…
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Police looking for Bangkok taxi driver who stole 3.6 million baht of valuables
FILE PHOTO Bangkok Police are hunting for a taxi driver who allegedly stole valuables valued over than 3.6 million baht from a Chinese businessman early on Sunday. Zhong Ai, a Chinese rubber exporter, told police he had been out drinking with friends in the Royal City Avenue area, and hailed a taxi to take him home at 5am. But he…
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“No more gang violence and sexy short skirts”
PHOTO: Sanook Thailand’s new education minister Nataphol Teepsuwan is attempting to address the behaviour of teenage students – the girls from wearing provocative’y short skirts and the boys from joining student gangs. The Minister seems to believe that the issue of overt displays of teenage female sexuality and the fights between young male students, are linked. He wants the girls…
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The Suvarnabhumi shopping shambles
Retailers want ‘in’ at the world’s 21st busiest airport in the world. With through-traffic of 60 million+ each year, and growing, Thailand’s biggest retailers want a slice of the passenger spend. But if you can’t get a shop inside the airport, build your own shopping centre just outside to capture passengers, and some of their money, just before they arrive at the…
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South Korean President in Thailand to sign trade agreements
PHOTOS: The Nation PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and his wife Naraporn Chan-ocha, have welcomed South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook to Government House in Bangkok this morning in the midst of an official state visit that continues tomorrow. A government spokesperson says that this was President Moon’s first official visit to Thailand since assuming his post in May…
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British man found dead in Rayong condo
PHOTO: Sanook A 49 year old British teacher at a language college in Rayong, eastern Thailand, has been found dead in his Cherng Nern apartment. Work colleagues told police that it was unusual that the man failed to turn up for work and wasn’t answering phone calls. Security at the condominium checked on the man’s room and found his body…
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Rescuers evacuate residents from Phitsanulok villages in north central Thailand
PHOTO: Phitsanulok HotNews A village in Phitsanulok’s Wang Thong district in north-central Thailand, has been totally inundated after a river burst its banks early this morning. Water started rising in the Fuangfah village in the Wang Thong district around 2.30am when the Wang Thong River overflowed. Rescuers rushed to the village by boat to evacuate the residents. Levels rose very…
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World economy wakes up to a day when the US has imposed new tariffs on China
The US has rolled out new tariffs on Chinese products yesterday but some economists say the latest gamble is likely to backfire and hurt the US economy. Meanwhile they predict the ramping up of the tariff ti-for-tat will not tarnish China’s resilience or dampen development in the long run. Yesterday the US administration imposed 15% additional tariffs on about half…
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Smile, you’re on red light camera
Bangkok’s new Red Light Camera Systems now in operation. The new cameras will be running 24/7 to protect against drivers running red lights at major Bangkok intersections. During trial period from August 1 – 14, 22,260 drivers were caught running the red lights, an average of 1,590 drivers per day. The punishment for such a violation is 1,000 baht fine…
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New storm brings more rain to Thailand’s north-east
PHOTO: The Nation North-east provinces are being told to get ready for another bout of heavy rains that could last until tomorrow. Although ‘storm ‘Podul’ passed through the region on Friday and Saturday, another storm over southern China is impacting the weather in north-eastern Thailand. The storm currently is near Hainan Island in the northern South China Sea. The Thai…
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Alleged killer of British man wandering free around Phuket
PHOTOS: Gustavo Valiente, Bajaj Family The killer of a British father has been seen wandering free around Phuket just nine days after allegedly choking him to death in a frenzied 4am attack at the Centara Grand Resort on Karon Beach. 54 year old Norwegian Roger Bullman has been staying at a Phuket guesthouse on bail awaiting an appearance in court in…
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Changing Thailand’s helmet culture
by Patrick Mattimore On a recent trip to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I was struck by an interesting phenomenon traveling from the airport to my hotel. I saw perhaps more than a thousand motorcycle riders and passengers, and only one person was not wearing a helmet. Yet, the entire two weeks I spent in that city, I didn’t see…
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Fried chicken worker stabs boss in the head in central Thailand
A fried chicken vendor needed medical treatment after being stabbed in the head by a young man working for him in Chonburi province, central Thailand. Yannawuth Prasomwangsub told police that he and his wife sell fried chicken at the Sattahip flea market and hired 16-year-old Nat to help them just a week ago. While setting up shop, Yannawuth was missing…
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Top 10 things to do in Phuket during the wet season
There’s a bit of rain around. No worries. It’s rainy season and the island looks a lot better when it’s all green and the dams are filling. Try something on our instant list of the ten things you can do when it’s wet and raining in Phuket. So here is our completely random Top 10 things to do whilst it’s…
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“How did my son die in Thailand?” A British father seeks answers.
PHOTO: Facebook/David Cornock The father of a 37 year old British man who died in mysterious circumstances in Koh Samui in May this year, has called in a former detective to sort out what happened. The British Foreign Office has already raised the case with both the Royal Thai Police and Interpol. The body of 37 year old David Cornock,…
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Torrential rain in Thailand’s north and north-east from Podul
‘Podul’, the tropical storm that came out of the South China Sea and headed westward through Vietnam into the north of Thailand, has now weakened but inundated parts of the north-east and northern Thailand in its wake. Flooding in and around Khon Kaen has been reported to be as high as three metres with over 1,000 houses inundated. Homes and cars…
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New Central Village luxury outlet opens for business at BKK
Wonder if anyone from Airports of Thailand were invited to this morning’s opening? The Central Pattana president and CEO Preecha Ekkunagul, and directors Suthikiatis Chirathivat and Sudhitham Chirathivat, presided at the official opening ceremony of Central Village next to Suvarnabhumi airport this morning. Central Village has cost more than 5 billion and was five years in the planning. The new…
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‘Podul’ batters Phrae as it weakens across northern Thailand
by Kanyasorn Thintip, Nisanart Kangwanwong – The Nation As former tropical storm “Podul” continued to weaken yesterday as it plodded westward across north -central Thailand, the Sun Men district in the northern province of Phrae was battered yesterday morning, with toppled trees and power poles, and roofs blown off houses. Provincial governor Pongrat Piromrat called an urgent meeting of all district…
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Pattaya motorbike repairman arrested over sexual harassment of a 14 year old
A 24 year old motorbike repairer was arrested early yesterday morning for the alleged sexual harassment of a 14 year old girl at a Nong Prue motorbike repair shop in Pattaya. The repair shop was located on Soi Khao Noi. A urine test turned up positive for drugs, according to local police. The arrest follows a tip-off from the Children Families…
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Thai man claims he’s 128 years old, reveals his secrets for living
PHOTOS: khaosod.co.th A Thai man who claims he is 128 year old has revealed the secrets of his longevity to a reporter from khaosod.co.th. His ID card identifies that he was born during the reign of King Rama V on April 9, 1891. Mr. Orn Parnchompoo and his ‘young wife, 70 year old Song Parnchompoo, have 7 children and 11 grandchildren,…
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