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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
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Thai government addresses widespread sexual abuse
“There have been few complaints in the past because the victims are afraid of their harassers who are usually their bosses,” Sexual harassment is a hot-button issue in many countries, today, with awareness rising of a topic which has long been unaddressed and taboo. Yesterday the Thai government pledged to protect victims who come forward and to investigate complaints of…
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Study finds no benefit from hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 treatment
“The experiments and report has limitations, but adds to growing doubt over the efficacy of the drug.” There was plenty of hype, even shared by the US President. But a study published yesterday, the biggest of its kind to date, found no benefit from a malaria drug earlier touted as a potential treatment for Covid-19. It ended up being associated with…
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2 Songkhla immigration officers infected with Covid-19, 70 at risk
2 immigration officials from the southern province of Songkhla are reported to be infected with Covid-19, putting about 70 others at risk after close contact with the officials. The provincial communicable disease committee made the announcement today. The new cases, both officers working at the Sadao border checkpoint, brings the tally in the province to 39 after 2 weeks with…
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Thai school director turns himself in after allegedly molesting one of his students
Yesterday at 3 pm the director of Ban Hua Na Lao school in the Phetchabun province (central Thailand), 59 year old Narongwit Phakham turned himself in to Ban Tiew Police after being accused of molesting a student at his school. Following up on a video clip of the school director allegedly molesting the schoolgirl in his school office, police officials…
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Thailand visa amnesty extended to July 30
Thailand’s cabinet has approved a second automatic visa extension for foreigners for three more months. The extended amnesty is a bid to prevent long queues at immigration centres around the country. Narumon Pinyosinwat, spokeswoman for the Thai government, says they want to stem the spread of the coronavirus and avoid foreigners having to wait in lines and threaten their own health…
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Thailand News Today – Tuesday, April 21
Thailand’s new ‘normal’ – Government charts course post-April 30 The Thai government is trying to find a balance between the public health needs and the imperative to re-boot Thailand’s economy. The Government is rumoured to be mulling another month of the emergency decree. The current emergency decree is set to expire in 9 days, on April 30. This is a…
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At least 18 dead in Canada’s worst-ever mass shooting
It is the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history. Royal Canadian Mounted Police rushed to more than a dozen crime scenes yesterday after a shooting rampage by a gunman disguised as a police officer left at least 18 dead and homes in smoldering ruins in rural Nova Scotia. Officials say the suspect, 51 year old Gabriel Wortman, died in the…
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68 year old dies from heat trauma in Uttaradit
A 68 year old man has allegedly died from heat trauma in Uttaradit (northern Thailand), as a local news source reports that he died from shock and has been dead for 3 days. A collector for funeral expenses was the first person to arrive at the scene. He says he noticed a foul smell coming from the man’s house so he…
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American creates bomb scare at Bangkok’s US Embassy
This morning at 8:3oam officers at Bangkok’s Lumphini Police Station were notified of a suspicious western man who placed a suspicious box in front of the US embassy. A bomb disposal team was sent to the scene but in the box there was only a Muay Thai doll, some clothes, A3 batteries, papers and a plastic bottle was found nearby.…
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11 soldiers being investigated after allegedly torturing and killing one brother, injuring the other
Police officers in Nakhon Phanom (northeastern Thailand bordering Laos) are investigation a parent’s complaint filed on Sunday that two of her sons were taken away by soldiers leading to the death of one and the other being seriously injured. 11 soldiers are now under investigation over the incident. The complaint was made by 59 year old Niwat Saisa and his…
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Plans to renew northern forests destroyed in recent fires
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, along with The Royal Forest Department says they have conducted plans to revive the northern forests which have been destroyed by this year’s burning season and other forest fires. But some good news, the Royal Forest Department says the number of hotspots detected in the North has fallen to 28. The fewer hotspots,…
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Singapore battles to control new surge in Covid-19 cases
The tiny island state, earlier seen as a vanguard for Covid-19 containment, has now seen a recent spike in cases pushing it to the top of the list in south east Asia’s tally of total number of cases. Singapore yesterday recorded 1,426 new COVID-19 infections, bringing its total to 8,014 (as of 9am Thai time) in a population of just…
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Thailand News Today – Monday, April 20
27 new virus cases, no deaths for third straight day Thailand reported 27 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours but no additional deaths today. The new figure is 5 fewer than the 32 cases reported yesterday, and the lowest number of daily cases recorded since March 14. For the third consecutive day, no additional deaths, related to…
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The China Bounce – are the Chinese packing their bags ready to come back to Thailand?
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com The results of a comprehensive new survey of consumers in Mainland China’s first tier cities concludes that 53% of respondents would like to travel internationally sometime this year. Citing the opportunity, the most popular months for trips abroad for the remainder of the year are, specifically, August, October and December. Thailand is one of the…
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Indonesian man arrested for fraud
Police in Bangkokk’s Don Mueang district say revealed a 72 year old Indonesian man has been arrested for “misappropriation of funds.” The victim filed a report after realising he’d been scammed. In his complaint the victim claims that “Ricky” Hartono Widjaj invited him to invest in the metal business, importing metal into Thailand from Malaysia. The victim handed Ricky about…
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Chiang Mai still struggling for some fresh air
Chiang Mai is suffering yet another day of poor air quality index, according to aqicn.org. And whilst the air quality is bad, it’s still a lot better than it was a month or so ago when the readings zoomed up to 300-400, and somedays, even higher. aqicn.org data reports that Chiang Mai’s air quality index had a PM2.5 level of…
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Samut Prakarn shooting leads to one fatality
Last night at around 6pm, an army private is alleged to have shot and killed his father in law, in Samut Prakarn province (South of Bangkok). After police officers from Bangmeuang Station were informed of the multiple gunshots at a house in Sub Yang Yein housing estate in Mueang district, they quickly set up a blockade surrounding the area. The…
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Sweden’s massive public health gamble is failing
Whilst much of Europe, and the world, is currently in varying states of lockdown, one Scandanavian country has gone it alone with its own take on handling the Coronavirus pandemic. Sweden has no mandatory quarantines and relatively few limitations on moving around. Some schools remain open. Cafes, restaurants and shops, for the most part, remain open and stocked. Same with…
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Back to business – time for Thailand’s tourist industry to get ready
OPINION by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com Tourism is a vital part of Thailand’s economy. And as the country emerges into the post-Covid world, getting tourists back to the country will be an essential springboard to the rest of the Thai economy. None of that will be automatic or easy as international travel has been severely disrupted and will take months,…
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Monk defrocked and arrested after allegedly shooting man in the testicles
A monk at Wat Mongkhol Nimit in Samut Prakan, just south of Bangkok, has been defrocked and arrested for shooting another man who was living at the same temple. Police arrested 46 year old Phra Apiram Ruengthip at his living quarters on Friday evening. The former monk claims he only shot in self-defense. Police say they seized an unregistered handgun…
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Deputy PM tries to clarify the PM’s letters to Thailand’s richest citizens
On Friday night the Thai PM told the Thai population that he was going to send a letter to Thailand’s Top 20 richest people asking for their ideas on how to revive the Thai economy. And he hinted that he wants them to chip in as well. He explained that he’s doing it to gather their input and ideas to…
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PM asks public to cool down on selling their gold
Massive unemployment due to the national state of emergency and the Covid-19 outbreak has pushed gold prices to near a 7 year high, and gold shops throughout the country are running out of cash because so many people are cashing in. In a briefing this week in Bangkok, PM Prayut Chan-Ocha asked the public to show restraint and not to…
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Four more Skytrain stations slated to open in June
Bangkok’s BTS Skytrain is as ubiquitous in Bangkok as good street food and fake Viagra, and it’s about to add four new stops to extend its reach. A spokeman says test runs to 4 new stations beyond Kasetsart University station (N13) began on April 8. The system currently comprises 43 stations along two lines: the Sukhumvit Line running northwards and…
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AirAsia will resume some flights beginning April 29
With a dozen or more airlines, including national flag carrier Thai Airways suspending flights or completely grounding their fleets due to the Covid-19 crisis, there is a ray of sunshine. AirAsia is set to resume domestic flights, starting with the home base in Malaysia on April 29, followed by Thailand and the Philippines on May 1, India on May 4…
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Man beats 4 year old son to death in Bangkok
Yesterday, just after midnight a man was charged with murder after striking and killing his 4 year old while high on drugs. Local police authorities had received a call that a boy had been fatally injured in an apartment in Soi Petchkasem, Phasi charoen district in Bangkok. When police arrived at the apartment, the door was locked so officers had to…
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Indonesia now leads SE Asia in Covid-19 cases
Indonesia is now leading the region with the highest number of Covid-19 cases. 407 new coronavirus cases were announced yesterday, taking the total of reported infections to 5,923, passing the Philippines as the country with the highest number of cases in Southeast Asia. At the start of April Indonesia had only reported 1,677 cases leaving epidemiologists to ponder how the…
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Foreigners arrested for holding noisy party on Koh Phangan
A group of foreign tourists have been detained after “partying” at a rented house on Koh Phangan. Koh Phangan is the home to the monthly full-moon parties, a boat-ride away from Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. Police from Koh Phangan police station raided the house after a tip-off from the village head complaining that many foreign tourists were regularly…
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Thailand News Today – Friday, April 17
Healthcare leader predicts 200,000 people could be infected with Covid-19 Despite the relatively low number of new coronavirus cases in Thailand, hospitals are already reaching capacity in dealing with patients that need ICU treatment and ventilators… this from Boon Vanasin, chairman of Thonburi Healthcare Group. He claims that the three main hospitals in Bangkok specialising in Covid-19 treatment are already…
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Woman injured in domestic dispute with boyfriend and his wife over baby’s abduction
A local Bang Lamung woman has sustained multiple facial and arm injuries after allegedly trying to get her 10 month old baby back from her boyfriend and his wife in Rayong province, south east of Pattaya. 27 year old Pirawan (whose family name is being withheld), reported to the Bang Lamung police this afternoon. Pirawan told officers that the incident…
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Biggest fire in 40 years at Mae Hong Son provincial city centre – VIDEO
At around 2.30am today a fire broke out leading to the destruction of an iconic building at the centre of Mae Hong Son province (northern Thailand), including the house of a Phalang Pracharat Party member of Parliament (MP). The blaze started at the Crossroad bar, a 70 year old building made of wood and located in the city centre near…
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