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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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10.8 million baht found in dead abbot’s quarters, dean of monks says family has no right to the money
After 50 days of merit-making, Luang Phor Yen Satchitto’s minimalist hut was opened on Sunday by relatives who found over 10.6 million baht in cash under the bed. Relatives and locals estimate the figure should be nearer to 40 million and suspect a burglary has taken place, but forensic officers think otherwise. The cash was deposited into a joint account…
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Night shift employee at Pattaya guest house robbed while asleep at reception desk
An employee working the night shift at a guest house in Pattaya fell asleep at the reception counter and woke up to find valuables missing from the lobby, which are said to be valued at a total of 160,000 baht. The 49 year old staff member filed a report to police and provided surveillance camera footage showing a man entering…
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Non-profit Watchdog Thailand saves over 20 cats locked in house, 5 found dead
Over 20 cats were found starving inside a locked house yesterday in Samut Prakan province, just south of Bangkok. Activists from the non-profit organisation Watchdog Thailand saved 17 of the cats while four escaped and a total of five dead cats were found inside the house. The cats are now being cared for at Watchdog’s shelter. Villagers contacted Watchdog Foundation…
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Couple having sex in car allegedly attempt to run over security guard after confrontation
A security guard narrowly dodged getting run over after asking a couple who were having sex in a parked car at a Bangkok market to move along. When the head of security approached the car in the early hours of Sunday morning, the driver attempted to run him over and fled the scene. No one was injured. 20 year old…
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Tourism officials push for all entry restrictions for vaccinated travellers to be lifted by June 1
Thailand’s tourism officials want an end to all entry restrictions for vaccinated travellers by June 1. That means no quarantine, no Test & Go rules, no Sandbox zones, no Covid-19 tests. A plan to gradually lift restrictions over the next few months, leading up to the removal of all restrictions by June 1, has been drafted by the Tourism and…
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Thai police charge 32 university students for involvement in fatal hazing incident
A total of 32 university students in Thailand’s Isaan region are facing criminal charges for a brutal initiation where a first-year student died after being beaten. Of those students, seven of them have reportedly confessed to using excessive violence against the student and are facing charges of colluding in physical assault causing death and assault. First-year students at the Rajamangala…
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No survivors in China Eastern Boeing 737 crash carrying 132 people
Rescuers searching the wreckage of the China Eastern Airlines passenger jet say there are no survivors. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft carrying 132 people crashed into a mountainside in southern China’s Guangxi region after a sudden nosedive. Rescuers are searching a deep pit in the mountainside to find the plane’s black box, which holds flight data and voice recordings from the…
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Asia News Today | China plane crash latest & HK looking to relax restrictions
Investigators are now trying to piece together the final moments of a Boeing 737 flight in southern China yesterday before it plummeted into a hilly area as it was approaching Guangzhou. The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 jet, flight MU5735, carrying 132 people crashed in Wuzhou. The sudden nosedive of the plane has left aircraft accident specialists baffled as authorities…
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Police order shutdown of 3 go-go bars, nightclubs in Bangkok’s Thonburi
Police are shutting down three bars for five years in the Thonburi area of Bangkok without much explanation. The three “satan borikan,” or “service places” (a Thai genteelism for prostitution venues) have been closed down for committing offences that violate Thailand’s “Entertainment Act” of 1966 and a government order from 2015. New Jazz, Lan-Lao and Poseidon Pub in Thonburi committed…
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Ranger wanted for murder found dead in Thailand forest after week-long search
After a week-long search involving around 100 officers, the body of a forest ranger wanted for murder was found hanging from a tree in Buriram. The senior ranger was wanted for firing shots at his ex-wife’s home, killing the woman’s 20 year old son. 45 year old Phitphirun Phiraphop was a senior forest protection ranger at Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary.…
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Isaan tradition of scattering ashes banned at local river after 7 villages complain of debris
The tradition of scattering a loved one’s ashes into a river in the Isaan province has been banned in a popular area for the ritual after locals reported that a service was arranging boat trips for families to dump not only the cremated remains into the river, but also ritual items and personal possessions of the deceased. Sometimes even mattresses…
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UKRAINE UPDATES: Ultimatums ‘not feasible’; Russian offensive stalls; Putin’s ‘back is against the wall’
As Russia’s invasion continues, here’s the latest headlines from the war in Ukraine… • In a televised address, President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine could not submit to ultimatums from Russia. The only way to do that would be to “destroy us all” he said. The remarks come after Ukraine rejected a Russian ultimatum for Mariupol authorities to surrender the city…
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Virologist says blood tests can detect percentage of Thai population infected
A prominent Thai virologist says blood tests should be used to determine the percentage of the population that has been infected with Covid-19. According to a Nation Thailand report, Dr Yong Poovorawan says a blood test can even detect Covid-19 in asymptomatic patients. The head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology made the statement in a post on…
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Phuket man paralysed by drunk officer seeks 15 million baht in compensation
The family of the noodle vendor who was shot by a drunk, off-duty police officer last year on Phuket’s Bangla Road is seeking compensation of 15 million baht. The 25 year old vendor was shot in the stomach with the bullet lodged in his spine, paralysing him from the waist down. The officer is now on trial for attempted murder,…
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All quarantine rules lifted for international travellers to Indonesia
Following in the steps of a number of other Southeast Asian nations, Indonesia is lifting all quarantine requirements for international arrivals in a bid to revive its tourism industry. International arrivals will still need a negative PCR test result before travel. The move follows a trial period of 2 weeks, during which quarantine-free travel was introduced on the islands of…
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Hong Kong to ease some Covid restrictions, lift flight ban from April
There may be the tiniest flicker of light at the end of a very dark Covid-19 tunnel in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government has confirmed that from next month, it will ease some restrictions and lift a travel ban imposed on 9 countries deemed high-risk during the Omicron outbreak. They include the US, the UK, France, India, and Nepal.…
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Government aims to administer boosters to 70% of elderly before Songkran holiday
Health officials plan to administer booster vaccine doses to 70% of Thailand’s elderly population ahead of the Songkran holiday in April. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Department of Disease Control says it doesn’t want to see a repeat of last year, when infections and deaths rose significantly after the Thai New Year holiday, due to the limited availability…
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UPDATE: Boeing 737 carrying 132 passengers crashes into mountains in China
A Boeing 737 passenger jet carrying 132 people has crashed in China, according to a Chinese state media broadcast earlier today. Reports say the Chinese Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 went missing earlier in the day as it was headed from Kunming to Guangzhou. The plane was carrying 123 passengers and 9 crew. The China Eastern Airlines aircraft plummeted rapidly then…
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Daughter of former PM Thaksin moves up in political career, closer to PM candidacy
Thailand’s main opposition party is leaning closer to choosing their candidate for prime minister and reports say the daughter of the former leader Thaksin Shinawatra might run as the party’s candidate. Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn, was announced as the project leader for a Pheu Thai party campaign to draw in new members, but when asked about becoming a candidate for prime minister,…
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Man caught with endangered tortoise faces charges for hunting in Thailand wildlife sanctuary
Thai authorities caught a man with an endangered tortoise he reportedly caught in a wildlife sanctuary and planned to cook up and eat. The man was found in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan province with firearms and a yellow elongated tortoise which he claimed he was cooking. The man faces charges relating to illegally entering a wildlife sanctuary, hunting…
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US says Rohingya violence was ‘genocide’ as Asean envoy meets Myanmar junta leaders
US President Joe Biden has determined that the violence against the Rohingya minority committed by Myanmar’s military in 2017 amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity, a US official told Reuters on Sunday. The move comes as a special Asean envoy begins three days of visits with junta officials in Myanmar, aiming to begin a peace process. The US Secretary…
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Crayfish alien species found at Phetchabun waterfall, Thais discuss potential effects to ecosystem
After a non-native species of crayfish was found at a Northern Thailand waterfall, some are discussing the effects the species can have on the environment. A photo of a Redcraw crayfish, originating from Australia, at a waterfall in Phetchabun, sparked a debate about the potential damage this “freshwater lobster” can cause to the local ecosystem. Crayfish (also known as crawfish,…
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Thai woman dresses as bear to sell more Kratom
Now that kratom is legal in Thailand, one woman in the Isaan province Buriram is dressing up in a bear costume and standing on the side of the road to attract business. Apparently, it has worked and her roadside sales of kratom leaves have shot up to over 1,000 baht per day. 40 year old Monradee Mordham from Udon Thani has…
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Thai villagers put up sign told tell an aggressive elephant to go away
After attempts to lure a hot-tempered elephant back into a wildlife sanctuary failed, locals in the village where the elephant has wreaked havoc, destroying plantations and killing an elderly woman, have put up a sign – even though the elephant cannot read – telling the animal to go away. Park officials in eastern province Prachin Buri were ordered to detain…
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Asia News Today | More North Korea missiles, ‘genocide’ in Myanmar
North Korea has conducted another missile launch, this time using a multiple rocket launch system, the latest in a busy time for North Korean missile testers. The statement from the South Korean military didn’t specify how far the rocket got, the direction it was fired, or the exact type of rockets or weapons launched, but said they’re constantly monitoring the…
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Monday Covid Update: 23,441 new cases; provincial totals
88 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 24,246 with 2,548 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 23,441 new Covid-19 cases and 23,153 recoveries. There are now 240,339 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
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Nok Air asks for time to promote routes to new Betong airport after cancelling flights
Yala’s new Betong International Airport is open for business, but you might be hard-pressed to book a flight there. Nok Air has suspended its route from Bangkok to Betong, saying it needs an additional two to three months to promote the airport among domestic and foreign tourists before it can reopen the route. Last week, Nok Air cancelled its flights…
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200 crocodiles on sale in Trang, southern Thailand
A crocodile farmer in Trang has slashed his prices after accumulating 450 crocodiles which he has found hard to shift since the coronavirus pandemic began. Around 200 of the crocodiles are currently for sale for the cheap price of 3,500 baht to 6,000 baht each, depending on the size. Before the pandemic began, Sommart Srisuk sold the crocodiles for 8,000…
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UKRAINE UPDATES: Ukraine won’t surrender Mariupol; Zelensky calls Israeli MPs; 25% of Ukrainians flee home; Pope visits children
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth weeks, here are the latest headlines… • Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister rejected Russia’s demand to give up the strategic port city of Mariupol by 5am Monday morning Moscow time (4 am Monday in Mariupol). The Russian Ministry of Defence had offered to open humanitarian corridors in exchange for a surrender of the…
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Most of Thailand to be hit by heavy rainfall today and tomorrow
Get your umbrellas out, you’re going to need them in most parts of the country today and tomorrow. The Thai Meteorological Department has forecast “very heavy rain” for the north, central Thailand, and the east coast of the southern region. A cyclone in the Bay of Bengal is the reason for the wet conditions, according to the TMD, with a…
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