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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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Government Lottery Office ordered to pay 1.65 billion baht over failed project
After a decade-plus struggle, the Supreme Administrative Court has ordered the Government Lottery Office, or GLO, to pay the Thai conglomerate Loxley 1.65 billion baht in compensation over a failed online lottery project. An online lottery system and machines were set up nationwide by Loxley GTech back in 2006. The company had also trained people on how to operate the…
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Police raid Pattaya bar and arrest 32 people for drinking alcohol
Police raided a Pattaya bar and arrested 32 Thais and foreigners who were allegedly drinking alcohol, violating Covid-19 disease control measures which prohibit gatherings, particularly where alcohol is involved. Police were called to the Sky Mountain Bar at around 11:30pm last night after a call from a local. Customers and bar staff emerge arrested and taken to the Pattaya City…
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15 most popular tourism provinces contribute 70% of total GDP
Wealth inequality around the world has always been the haves versus the have nots, but in Thailand, it has become the toured versus the toured not. The Fiscal Policy Officer’s senior expert on macroeconomic policy recently presented some stark figures showing the astounding gap in contribution to the GDP between tourism provinces and non-tourism provinces. Only 15 provinces contribute 70%…
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Police seize more than 100 monkeys allegedly trafficked in illegal meat trade
More than 100 wild monkeys caged in plastic carriers were seized off a pickup truck in Prachinburi province. The 25 year old driver was arrested, and allegedly told police that he had been hired by a network that trafficks wild animals to be purchased by restaurants and later eaten. The 102 monkeys were in poor condition, some with wounds and…
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Burmese coup causes food prices to rise, income fall
As clashes between the military who took over the country in a coup Feb 1 and protestors in cities and insurgents in the countryside rage on, prices on necessities like food spike and many are going hungry in Myanmar. People who could once afford healthy, balanced meals of pork and vegetables and rice are now scraping by simple cheap foods…
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Friday Covid Update: 3,759 new cases and 34 deaths, provincial totals
3,759 new Covid-19 infections and 34 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since April 1, the CCSA has reported a total of 116,113 Covid-19 cases. There are now 46,150 active cases in Thailand. Out of the new cases, 1,294 infections were found in Thai prisons. Over the past month, 14 correctional facilities have reported…
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Toyota Motor Thailand under investigation for alleged judicial bribery
Thailand’s Court of Justice announced it is investigating a case involving top judges to the grand jury who were allegedly bribed by representatives from Toyota Motor Thailand, a subsidiary of Toyota, while the US Department of Justice says it is continuing its investigation into the auto company’s alleged judicial bribery in Thailand. Sitting judges on the Thai Supreme Court were…
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Gold shop owner arrested for money laundering 30 million baht
In a simultaneous raid of multiple locations around the Kanchanaburi province, police arrested a gold shop owner suspected of laundering money for drug smugglers. The Phet Thong Sap Thawee Lae Nalika Thong Thae Yaowarat gold shop in Muang district was raided by police and military and assets totalling about 30 million baht were impounded. The 32 year old shop owner…
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Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City orders travel companies to suspend “vaccine tours”
Officials in Ho Chi Minh have ordered local travel companies to stop offering “vaccine tours” to the US, accusing operators of only selling 1-way tickets. The southern city’s Tourism Department claims there are hidden costs involved and travellers may even end up without a flight home. So-called vaccine tours have become popular recently, as wealthy citizens whose countries are struggling…
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Tourism officials push for “One Night, One Dollar” campaign in Phuket
“…have been suffering from the pandemic for 15 months now. Only mass tourism will save us.” A night at a Phuket resort could drop down to just $1 USD. Tourism officials are pushing for a proposed campaign they call “One Night, One Dollar” to help draw travellers back to the popular tourist island as locals prepare for its July 1…
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Malaysian PM under fire as Covid-19 infections climb
The Malaysian PM is being slammed by the public and opposition politicians alike as a state of emergency introduced in January has failed to curb the spread of Covid-19. Under the state of emergency, Muhyiddin Yassin was able to suspend Parliament, with the emergency not due to end until August. Critics say the suspension of Parliament is a suspension of…
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Over 1,200 new infections found across 14 Thai prisons
The Corrections Department has confirmed that another 1,228 Covid-19 cases have been reported across 14 prisons around the country. According to a Bangkok Post report, Veerakit Harnpariyan from the department adds that another 2,054 patients have recovered, while 16,319 are being treated at prison facilities. Veerakit has also responded to reports on social media about a man who was found…
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UK health officials detect new Covid-19 variant first found in Thailand
A new Covid-19 variant which reportedly originated from Thailand has been detected in the UK. The Public Health England is now investigating the new mutated strain C.63.3. Reports say the new variant was first detected in Thailand. The patients had originally travelled from Egypt. No other details have been reported about the patients in Thailand, but given their international travel history,…
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Princess steps in to approve alternative vaccine imports
Princess Chulabhorn, sister to His Majesty, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has signed a decree to allow the Chulabhorn Royal Academy, which she sponsors, to import Covid-19 vaccines. It’s understood that the institution will import another Chinese vaccine, Sinopharm, which the Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve in the coming week. The surprise development has been confirmed in the Royal…
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Thailand News Today | US investigation into Covid origins, Pattaya opens to foreigners in Q4 | May 27
Thai Airways is launching a limited number of direct flights from Europe to Phuket, 2 of the 62 people who were arrested at the alleged drug and sex party in Bangkok have tested positive for Covid-19, Pattaya officials are saying they’re ready to reopen to foreign tourists this year under a model similar to Phuket if 70% of residents are…
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Phuket Gov issues English letter urging Covid-19 compliance
This afternoon Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew issued a direct letter, apparently aimed at foreigners. The letter urged that everyone comply with the island’s Covid-19 restrictions to try to eliminate the virus. The letter is a formal request marked urgent, written in English implying that it is directed at foreigners, issued by the Directing Division of the Phuket Governor’s office at…
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1000 year old stolen lintels will arrive in Thailand tomorrow night
Two ancient stolen lintels from Thailand’s Khmer past, dated around the 11th century, are returning to Thailand after being smuggled out of Thailand during the Vietnam War. A lintel (don’t worry, we had to Google it too) is the top beam or arch of a doorway structure, and this artefact from the Lopburi period was carved from sandstone about 1000…
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Taxi drivers may switch to rideshare apps with new regulations
The president of the Thai Taxi Network Association says that many traditional licensed taxis will likely switch to driving their own cars as rideshare drivers. The statement comes in response to the government’s announcement that they have started to put together regulations for rideshare taxi apps, set to go into effect in a month or two. The new regulations would bring…
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Man arrested in Sattahip Chon Buri with 700g of crystal meth
Acting on a local tip, Sattahip police took a suspect into custody in Rayong with over 700 grams of crystal meth in his possession. The man caught with the methamphetamine said that he had become unemployed due to Covid-19 and desperate to make some money, so he turned to dealing drugs to survive. The team of police from Sattahip, a district…
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Police arrest “key” labour trafficking suspect who allegedly earned millions of baht
Police say they’ve arrested a “key” suspect who allegedly earned millions of baht leading a human trafficking operation. Following the man’s arrest, police accessed his bank account and say he earned around 14 million baht over the past year with his earnings increasing during Covid-19 outbreaks. Over the past year, officers tightened border patrol along the Thai-Myanmar border and focused…
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Melbourne, Australia on week-long Covid-19 lockdown
Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, has just gone into a sudden 7-day Covid-19 lockdown, after a recent outbreak. The city of 5 million people has new stay at home orders today for the next week, going into effect at midnight tonight and lasts until June 3. The lockdown will not just affect the city of Melbourne but the entire Victoria…
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Water monitor lizard blood studied in Thailand for potential to treat cancer and Covid-19
Asian water monitor lizard blood is being researched in Thailand for its medicinal properties and its potential to treat cancer and even Covid-19. The Thai government granted the Mahidol University permission to collect blood samples from the protected species and study proteins in the blood that contribute to the lizard’s immune defence. The large lizards, sometimes reaching 1.5 metres in…
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More assault rifles missing from arms depots in Narathiwat
Police suspect insurgents stole at least 37 assault rifles from armories in 5 districts in the Deep South province Narathiwat, which borders Malaysia and is prone to violence due to the religious separatist insurgency. Police have been checking the stock of each arms depot in the province. On May 18, police reported that 28 AK102s were missing from the 2nd Narathiwat…
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At least 73 children killed by junta forces in Myanmar, death toll still rising
Out of the estimated 800 people killed by security forces after the February military coup in Myanmar, at least 73 were children. Some were playing outside when they were shot and killed by soldiers and police who fired their guns at random in Burmese neighbourhoods, according to the Ministry of Human Rights of the National Unity Government. Other children were…
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2 of the 62 people arrested at Bangkok sex party test positive for Covid-19
2 of the 62 people who were arrested at the alleged drug and sex party in Bangkok have tested positive for Covid-19. Large gatherings are prohibited in Bangkok, particularly those where people are in “close contact,” to prevent the spread of the virus. Reports say the large gathering at the Faros Sauna was a “chemsex” event involving drugs to enhance sex.…
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Bali officials run out of patience with badly-behaved tourists
The Indonesian holiday island of Bali has lost patience with misbehaving visitors, with several tourists being deported for their high-jinks. Singapore’s Channel News Asia has been documenting the activities likely to get you kicked out of Indonesia – don’t say you haven’t been warned. Bali locals are not in the mood for jokes as their country continues to do battle…
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Phuket study confirms Sinovac vaccine offers 80% protection
A study on the southern island of Phuket indicates that inoculation with the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine reduces the chance of contracting the virus by more than 83%. Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit from the Public Health Ministry says around 22% of the island’s population has now received both doses of the Sinovac vaccine, with 45% having received the first dose. According to…
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Biden orders US officials to review rival theories to confirm Covid-19 origin
US President Joe Biden has ordered staffers to investigate and confirm the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, pointing out that rival scenarios, including a possible Chinese lab leak, continue to circulate. Biden says US intelligence agencies are exploring 2 likely theories but have yet to reach concrete conclusions, with debate raging around both. “I have now asked the Intelligence Community…
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93% of Covid samples from April test positive for variant found in the UK
The Covid-19 variant first detected in the United Kingdom is said to have been found in many of the cases detected in April. Out of 300 samples, 93% tested positive for the mutated strain, B.1.117, according to director general of the Public Health Ministry’s Department of Medical Sciences, Supakit Sirilak. The latest outbreak of Covid-19 started in clusters in Bangkok’s…
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Pattaya plans for reopening with no quarantine for vaccinated travellers
Pattaya will reopen to foreign tourists this year under a model similar to Phuket… but only if 70% of residents are vaccinated against Covid-19. Local officials are seeking more vaccine doses in an effort to reach herd immunity and bring people back to one of Thailand’s most popular tourist destinations. Under the plan “Pattaya, Move On,” quarantine in Pattaya would be…
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