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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 Why health insurance costs more each year and how expats in Thailand can save more money
Each year, many expats living in Thailand see their health insurance premiums go up and often without a clear reason. This can be frustrating, especially when you're trying to plan your budget. But by understanding why prices rise and learning...
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Motorbike thieves arrested after a million baht of bikes stolen
This week Pattaya Police arrested a group of motorbike thieves that they say are responsible for about a million baht worth of stolen bikes. The gang were arrested at a condo in Jomtien on Thursday afternoon by the Pattaya City Police Department. The raid captured 3 suspects, all between the ages of 22 and 23. The trio were nabbed after…
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300 tourism businesses given SHA Plus certification in Phuket
Part of the much-debated Phuket Sandbox reopening is guests must stay in SHA Plus-certified hotels, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand just gave certification for more than 300 tourism-related businesses on the island. The Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration Plus Certificate was presented to the businesses yesterday, and those establishments will now display the SHA Plus logo, assuring international…
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Police warn child pornography is a serious matter after teacher caught downloading clips
Siriwat Deepor, deputy commander in chief of the Royal Thai Police, says police have arrested a teacher at a renowned school in Chiang Rai after the teacher downloaded hundreds of pornographic videos of children. They did not give the teacher’s name or the name of the school. The police allege the individual kept the videos for their own enjoyment and…
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Tropical storm Koguma brings heavy rain to North, Northeast
Tropical storm Koguma is heading towards the Northern and Northeastern region of Thailand and is expected to dump rain on the area over the next few days as it weakens. The storm was centred over the Tonkin Bay off the northern coast of Vietnam yesterday morning and has been heading moving west at about a 15 kilometre per hour. The…
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Despite rumours, PM and goverment not planning early election
Amid a scattered Covid-19 response and vaccine rollout, and plenty of political fingerpointing and whispers, government officials dismiss rumours that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha will call an early special election. The rumours gained traction after the prime minister urged cabinet members to hasten their work as the administration had only 1 year left, when in fact the 4-year term ends in…
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Dmitry Gudkov: ‘We have a choice between exile and jaiI’
The Russian authorities are intensifying their pressure on opposition politicians and activists and the upcoming elections are going to be an “election without a choice,” according to former member of the State Duma Dmitry Gudkov, who was forced to leave Russia last week. On June 1, his dacha in the outskirts of Moscow was searched and he was detained for…
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Thai PM not happy with soccer gambling
Prayut Chan-o-cha, has voiced his concern that there has been an uptick in illegal gambling by Thai people throughout the UEFA European Soccer Championship (AKA Euro 2020). The PM told the Royal Thai Police, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, and “relevant agencies” to tighten the scrutiny of illegal gambling, with an emphasis on online gambling. He also asked…
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Doctors demand the government be more honest about Covid-19
The Rural Doctors Society wants the Thai government and the CCSA to be more upfront about vaccine availability and if there are enough doses to fulfill current vaccine appointments. The doctors released a statement yesterday that says there will be “chaos” this week due to more vaccination appointments being made than expected. They say this will lead to appointments being…
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Illegal casino operator accused of 4 charges including murder
A man who is alleged to have been running illegal casino operations is now facing indictment on 4 charges, including murder. The Crime Suppression Division has called for the charges to be filed against Somchai Jutikitdecha, the 56 year old suspect that goes by Longjoo Somchai. The CSD first arrested Longjoo back in February of 2020, accusing him of being…
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Survey shows lack of confidence in Government’s handling of vaccinations
Despite the mass vaccination campaign that has seen around 900,000 more vaccinations given, a lack of confidence in the government’s approach to Covid vaccinations still reigns. According to a new survey by the Suan Dusit Rajabhat University (AKA the Suan Dusit Poll), over half of respondents had doubts that government could reach its stated goal of inoculating 50 million people…
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Goverment kind of discloses what the secret budget is spent on
The Thai government has shed some light on its “secret budget allocations” to parry criticisms that it should increase transparency about money being used on defence. The Prime Minister Operations Centre shared details on its Facebook page. They say the secret allocations taken out of the 3.1 trillion baht budget deal amounted to only .03% of the total (930 million…
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Penis statue works as village sees rain after erection
Laugh and make jokes if you must (we certainly did!) but yesterday’s report on the village that erected a giant penis to bring rain has a, erm, happy ending. We’ll give you one guess on what the weather is like in the Yothaka sub-district of Chachoengsao province this weekend. If you guessed that the penis statue and rain blessing ceremony…
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Bangkok parks, salons, tattoo, massage reopen Monday
Does your dream day in Bangkok start with a manicure before viewing some great art or history, followed by a stroll through the park, maybe a quick neck tattoo before ending the day with a nice massage for your tired feet? If so, the restrictions in place for Covid-19 has had you sitting at home bored, waiting for everything to…
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TAT declares Phuket “is ready” to reopen for tourism on July 1
Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn attended a meeting with Phuket officials yesterday following months of vacillation by local tourism officials and central government departments. The tug-of-war between public health imperatives and Thailand’s battered tourist industry has caused a constant barrage of changes to announced details. “There will be no quarantine for foreign visitors under the Phuket Sandbox scheme…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 2,804 new infections and 18 Covid-related deaths
The Thai public health department has announced another 18 Covid-related deaths and 2,804 new infections. 409 of today’s cases come from the prison system. The numbers coming out of the public health department, and announced each morning at around 11.30am by a CCSA spokesperson, have been statistically similar for the past 2 months, with the exception of the cases coming…
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With nearly 60% of their population vaccinated, why is Chile’s Covid rate surging?
Chile, with nearly 60% of its population fully vaccinated, has gone into another lockdown to curb a new surge of the coronavirus. The Chilean Health Ministry says the 7 day average of new Covid infections remain above 7,000 people per day, and there were only 30 intensive care beds left in the capital as of last night. Santiago has a…
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Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya says ‘harsh’ sanctions needed
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya — currently living in exile in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius — has called for harsher sanctionsagainst strongman Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, adding this is the only effective way to put pressure on him and his administration. “Lukashenko only understands the language of force and economic sanctions. This is the mechanism that should be used … the…
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US President Biden persuades G7 to be more competitive towards China
The Group of Seven (G7) rich industrialized nations and the EU are presenting a harmonious front at their summit in the Cornish seaside resort of Carbis Bay in southwestern England. Diplomats seem pleased new US President Joe Biden is making transatlantic cooperation possible once again. While heads of state and governments meet in small groups or stroll along the beach,…
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Pattaya October reopening hampered by obstacles
Pattaya has been working on its reopening plan, aiming to bring back international tourism in the fourth quarter of 2021. Officials have launched the “Pattaya, Move on” scheme which aims to open back up the popular tourist city in October, but the Public Health Ministry disagrees with their plan so far. The goal is to reopen Pattaya without the need…
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Thong Lor again: 31 arrested in club violating Covid-19 rules
Some people never learn. After frequently being named as the source of the Covid-19 third wave outbreak, which brought the more contagious Alpha variant to Thailand and spread it to every province in the country, the clubs and Hi-So people of the Thong Lor area of Bangkok are still flouting Covid-19 safety restrictions. Today 31 people were arrested after partying…
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Covid-19 prevention leads to 14 arrests of longterm overstays
While attempting to curb the spread of Covid-19 through migrant workers and illegal immigrants, Immigration Police have arrested 14 foreigners with “egregious overstays”. Today’s announcement of the bust of 14 foreign nationals took place mostly in northeastern provinces. The Immigration Chief explained that officials at immigration have been proactive in seeking out people who entered Thailand illegally to prevent an…
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Covid UPDATE: 3,277 new infections and 29 deaths, provincial totals
There are another 29 Covid-related deaths and 3,277 new infections announced today. 892 of today’s cases were from Thai prisons, an ongoing source of infections where around 22,000+ inmates have now been detected as new Covid cases (more below). Here’s the provincial totals for today… • Meanwhile the Thai Justice Ministry says the start of a vaccine rollout in the…
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Red tape and restrictions suggest a slow Phuket reopening
With the rollercoaster ride of the Phuket Sandbox reopening scheme, some government officials remain mostly optimistic, while many others are scaling back predictions and expectations. A slow return of tourist to Phuket is forecast as the plan, which won’t be officially approved until just days before the scheduled reopening on July 1, is meeting with a fair amount of blowback…
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UPDATE: Tourism Minister reportedly says July 1 ‘sandbox’ won’t happen
UPDATE By the conclusion of a meeting in Phuket this afternoon the only confirmation was that the July 1 date for a re-opening of Thailand, via the Phuket sandbox was “still on”, according to Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com who attended the meeting. More details when they emerge. Bottomline, nothing is confirmed until the Thai Cabinet discusses the issue, probably Tuesday,…
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Village need rain? Have you considered a giant penis?
Yothaka Subdistrict of Chachoengsao province is a fertile low river plain along the Nakhon Nayok River with rich agriculture. Since the residents there are heavily dependant on farming and therefore rain for their crops, locals in one village have a tradition to call in the rainy season by really using their (other) heads. Bringing new meaning to the phrase “member…
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Covid UPDATE Saturday: 3,277 new infections and 29 deaths
The public health ministry has announced another 29 Covid-related deaths and 3,277 new infections for Saturday. 892 of today’s cases have been from Thai prisons, an ongoing source of infections where around 22,000+ inmates have now been detected as new Covid cases. • Meanwhile the Thai Justice Ministry says the start of a vaccine rollout in the overcrowded prisons started…
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COVID vaccines in the workplace: Can I ask who got their shots?
Jon works for the local government in the US state of Virginia. The 40-year-old received both his COVID shots in April. Most of his coworkers are vaccinated, too. But how does he know that’s the case? “I find most people will volunteer the information,” Jon told DW. “Even though we’re not supposed to ask.” In many other workplaces around the…
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8.3% of Thailand’s 50 million vaccine target reached so far
Thailand has set a goal of 50 million people vaccinated against Covid-19, and as of today, they have given at least one vaccine to 8.3% of that target. The spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced that since beginning vaccinations in Thailand on February 28, 5.66 million injections have been administered. On Thursday, 223,315 vaccines were given around…
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UN report: Changes in Southeast Asia drug trafficking during the pandemic
While the notorious Golden Triangle remains a major production base for methamphetamine, drug syndicates in Southeast Asia have changed up trafficking routes and added production bases to not only survive but capitalise during the pandemic. Large-scale methamphetamine production has emerged in Cambodia during the pandemic, according to the annual UN Office on Drugs and Crime report on synthetic drugs in…
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United States to return 27 stolen antiquities to Cambodia
The United States is returning 27 stolen antiquities to Cambodia. The antiquities, which include Buddhist and Hindu statues from the Angkorian era, are valued at around USD$3.8 million. It’s unclear where the statues were found, or when they were smuggled to the US, but reports say investigators in New York spent years working to recover the antiquities. Operations from Manhattan’s…
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