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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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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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Kratom can legally be grown and leaves can be sold commercially next week
Starting next Tuesday, Kratom can be grown and its leaves, which have mind-altering characteristics, can be sold commercially in the Land of Smiles without the threat of prosecution. Also, people who have been detained for Kratom related offences will be released and their charges will be dropped. Currently, there are 1,038 people in prison for Kratom related offences. They will…
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No drinking of snake blood at this year’s Cobra Gold military exercise, PETA says
The controversial practice of decapitating snakes and pouring the blood into soldiers’ mouths is apparently no longer part of the jungle survival training for US and other foreign troops at Thailand’s annual Cobra Gold military exercise. PETA, or the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has been calling for an end to the snake blood exercise and the killing…
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Happy Paradise plan to welcome tourists, encourage spending
In an attempt to boost revenues and welcome more tourists to the Phuket Sandbox and beyond, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has launched a “Happy Paradise” programme. The plan aims at creating activities and excitement for Sandbox travellers and has kicked off with 1,000 Happy Paradise Welcome Kits. The program helps to invigorate not just Phuket arrivals, but also travellers…
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Betong Airport in Yala is almost ready to be southernmost Airport
Thailand’s southernmost province is set to open Thailand’s southernmost airport as the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand is nearing completion of safety inspections for Betong International Airport in Yala province. The CAAT is doing safety and security inspections now, which will be followed by a license and certification that will allow commercial flights to operate in and out of the…
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Phuket Fishing Port closed for 14 days following Covid outbreak
A series of Covid infections on fishing boats has shut down the Phuket Fishing Port, located on Koh Siray, for 14 days. The 2 week closure is to allow all operators and fishing crews who operate out of the port to get tested for Covid. The president of the Phuket Fishermen’s Association, Somyot Wongbunyakul, announced the port closure yesterday. The…
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Army pursues those claiming they brought Covid-19 to Thailand
The Royal Thai Army is fighting on a very different battleground today as they vowed to take action against a rumour online that they were responsible for letting Covid-19 into Thailand. The allegations are being made on Thai social media that an army medical research facility first brought the Coronavirus into the country and it spread from there. Channel 7…
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Thursday Covid Update: 20,902 new cases; provincial totals
20,902 new Covid-19 cases were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Around half of those cases are in central Thailand. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported at total of 989,859 Covid-19 cases. The latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 960,996 of…
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Cambodian union leader given 2 year prison sentence following comments that “incited unrest”
An influential Cambodian labour union leader has been handed a 2 year prison sentence yesterday over comments that the government says were insensitive and incited social unrest. His comments pertained to the country’s border. Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, has been in police custody for over a year following the government’s claims that Rong disseminated false…
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Vietjet to launch 4 direct cross-country routes from September
From next month, Vietjet will resume a number of domestic routes between Thai provinces without the need to connect in Bangkok. The carrier is promoting 4 routes for around 389 baht when taxes and other fees are factored in. According to TTR Weekly, the airline has dropped its 1pm – 3pm booking window so passengers now have more time to…
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7 year old living alone after whole family contracts Covid, officials ask neighbours to help out
A 7 year old is living by himself after his 8 family members who also lived with him tested positive for Covid. Since the boy, identified as Bass, is the only family member not to test positive for Covid, he got to stay behind in his home in Nonthaburi, the province just outside of Bangkok. A local rescue team, RX…
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Phuket entry requirements updated to admit some domestic travellers
Phuket officials have amended the requirements for domestic travel to the island, allowing some categories to enter. The measures are in place until at least the end of the month. According to TTR Weekly, domestic arrivals who meet the criteria below can enter Phuket via land, sea, or air. – Anyone returning to Phuket who can produce a house registration…
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Parit’s bail request rejected, after activist allegedly contracted Covid-19 in prison
A bail application for jailed political activist Parit Chiwarak, aka, “Penguin”, has been rejected, with his lawyer saying he has also tested positive for Covid-19. 7 other activists had their bail requests rejected at the same hearing. All 8 have been charged over an anti-government protest at police headquarters in the central province of Pathum Thani on August 2. According…
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Thursday Covid Update: 20,902 new cases and 301 deaths
20,902 new Covid-19 cases and 301 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA has recorded 22,208 recoveries. There are now 205,946 people receiving treatment for Covid-19. In the latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA…
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Meet the Middle Eastern migrants trapped in Lithuania
The trip from the center of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, to the refugee reception center in Rudninkai takes about 40 minutes. It’s not that easy to get there. We have to stop and ask for directions several times. But eventually we park our car at the edge of a forest and then follow a well-trodden path through the undergrowth toward…
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CCSA approves Sputnik vaccine, allowing Russian Sandboxers
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration quietly okayed the Russian Sputnik vaccine as one of the accepted vaccine brands for international travellers entering Sandbox destinations in Thailand. The vaccine had previously failed to receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration for import and use in Thailand. The Department of Disease Control is now expected to approve the order from…
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Taliban triumph means more worries in Africa
For over a decade now, there’s been a surge in the activities of extremist groups in the east and west Africa, the Sahel and parts of southern Africa. Many are Islamist militant groups with some form of affiliation to al-Qaeda, an organization the United Nations has said shares links with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Somali-based media affiliated to the homegrown…
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Indonesia converting motorbikes to electric, aims for all e-vehicles
A new program is launching today in Indonesia to convert normal petrol-fueled motorbikes into electric vehicles to try to make Indonesian transportation more eco-friendly. Indonesia’s Energy Ministry announced the plan to make a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation and they have already converted 10 motorbikes. The plan intends to convert 90 more motorbikes by November for a total of…
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Indonesia: Will the army’s ban on ‘virginity tests’ last?
The chief of staff of the Indonesian army, General Andika Perkasa, recently announced that the army will no longer conduct virginity tests on women applying to join the forces. He was referring to the invasive two-finger examination that was conducted to determine whether female applicants’ hymens were intact. The practice, used in the past by the military to determine recruits’…
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Afghanistan: Pakistan rejoices at Taliban victory as West flounders
Afghanistan has a familiar power back in place. Kabul has fallen. The Taliban have won. And Pakistanis are euphoric. To many a foe, but to others a friend, the cloistered group of extremists has long-held cordial ties with Islamabad, and the Taliban’s recent rise from the flames has left many Pakistanis in raptures. Khan: Removal of the ‘shackles of slavery’…
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Burmese military junta death toll surpasses 1,000
Myanmar passed a grim milestone as the death toll at the hands of security forces after the February 1 military coup has officially surpassed 1,000 people. Since the military junta seized power, pro-democracy protesters have taken to the streets nearly non-stop to demonstrate and are often met with harsh and violent suppression from the Burmese military. The Assistance Association for…
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Pattaya beach remodel project defended by mayor
After an uproar paused a beach remodel project that began Sunday, the Pattaya City Mayor held a press conference to explain and justify the remodel plans. Community leaders and notable residents protested the plans to launch the refurbishment, with complaints mainly on two grounds. First, many objected to the removal of trees that would come along with revamping the beachfront.…
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Woman advertises free antigen test kits with purchase of water, FDA investigates
Thailand’s FDA is planning legal action against Pimradaporn Benjawattanapat, an online seller also known as “Pimrypie”. Pimradaporn allegedly tried to give a set of antigen test kits as a gift alongside purchases of mineral water. The FDA deputy secretary general, Dr Surachok Tangwiwat, says his office will ask the Consumer Protection Police Division to investigate Pimradaporn’s ads for mineral water…
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Taliban vows no revenge, fewer restrictions on women this time
In the wake of seizing control of Afghanistan, the Taliban have pledged a kinder, gentler rule than that of 20 years ago before the United States 2001 invasion. They vow to not exact revenge on their opponents and to respect the rights of women, taking a more conciliatory tone. As the Taliban stormed the capital and assumed control, tens of…
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In Kabul, terrified Afghans wait for the call to safety
In a crowded Kabul cellar earlier this week, seven men acted out a desperate, terrifying scenario: One of them pretended to be a Taliban militant, the others had to convince them that they were students — not men who had spent years working for the German army. “We practiced our role: We are studying this, we are studying here,” one…
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Phuket Town lockdown lifted except Downtown Market, Market 2
After active Covid-19 testing revealed a reasonably low number of infections, the majority of last week’s lockdown in the centre of Phuket Town has now been lifted, aside from the market. The municipality fresh market at the heart of the lockdown will still remain closed for several more days. Several other market areas will remain shuttered for the duration of…
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Snake pops out of Australian grocery store shelf, local woman helps catch and release reptile
A python emerged from a grocery store shelf in Sydney, a city on Australia’s east coast, and surprised a grocery store patron earlier this week. 25 year old Helaina Alati, was shopping at a Woolworths when the 3 metre long snake pushed itself out of a shelf full of spices. Reportedly, the Woolworths supermarket is situated on edge of a…
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Ban lifted on longan fruit to China over mealybugs
After a ban implemented on August 13, China has now agreed to let longan fruit exports back into their country. The ban from last week was the result of mealybugs being found to have contaminated longan shipments from Thailand. The Commerce Ministry confirmed that the Chinese government has now allowed 56 specific sorting and packaging facilities to export to China…
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Police raid birthday party at Bangkok resort, arrest 28 people
Police raided a birthday party at a resort in Bangkok and arrested 28 people for violating emergency orders which prohibit gatherings of more than five people. Sutthisan police officers raided the resort in the Ratchadapisek area at around 3:30am today and arrested them for violating the disease control measures. Bangkok is classified as a “dark red” zone under maximum control with…
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Hospitals face alleged favouritism in distribution of vaccines
A probe is being launched to investigate the director of Chaloem Phra Kiat Hospital who is accused of favouritism after his wife and an associate received Pfizer vaccines they were not qualified for. A committee was set up yesterday by the Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Public Health Office to look into the improper vaccine allotment as the Pfizer vaccines have been…
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Dengue fever on the rise in Bangkok, Department of Disease Control reports
Dengue fever is reportedly on the rise in Bangkok and the Department of Disease Control says the number of dengue infections in the capital reported from January 3 to July 3 is “unprecedented,” according to Nation Thailand. During the six month period, a total of 1,043 people in Bangkok tested positive for the mosquito-borne illness, which is also known as…
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