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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 retirees in Thailand are choosing long-term health insurance over quick fixes
Retirees in Thailand are increasingly seeing the importance of health insurance in protecting their well-being during retirement. With insurance requirements for retirement visas and rising healthcare costs, many are moving away from short-term plans and choosing long-term coverage. Long-term health...
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A trip to Thailand: what to take and leave behind
Thailand or bust? If you are planning to move or travel to Thailand, we have a packing guide that can help you skip the headache of knowing what to bring to the country and what to leave behind. As Thailand is a tropical country which features hot, very hot, and rainy seasons, there is really no need to bring anything…
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Failed 14 million baht temple lighting system may quash UNESCO nomination
A failed 14 million baht lighting system isn’t helping southern Thailand’s temple of Phra Mahathat Woramahavihan’s bid to become a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. The lighting system was installed around the main stupa of Phra Borommathat Chedi in 2014, but those responsible for the project have largely left it in disarray. The lighting is now in need of repairs due…
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6.6 magnitude earthquake rocks Nepal leaving at least six dead
Nepal is reeling after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake has left at least six dead. The quake has killed four children and two adults so far, with five others seriously injured. Several houses also collapsed, according to the western district of Doti’s superintendent of police. Most of the damage occurred in Doti, which is about 430 kilometres west of Kathmandu. According…
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Singapore shuts down harmful online content with new law
Singapore is shutting down harmful online content with a new law to protect vulnerable Internet users. Social media sites will now be required to block access to harmful content within hours. Parliament passed the law yesterday, with the Infocomm Media Development Authority gaining authority to issue Internet access service providers directions to block access by users in the country. According…
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Two Thai airlines among Top 10 most timely in the world
Thailand is not known for its timekeeping, yet two Thai airlines were among the most “on time” in the world in September 2022. The Top 10 Most On-time Airlines were ranked using real data from the Official Airline Guide (OAG) flight database. OAG provides “the world’s most accurate and information-rich flight data.” Flights that leave within 15 minutes of their…
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MOPH to investigate Krabi’s holy water after a disabled woman claimed she could walk after drinking it
The Ministry of Public Health yesterday revealed it intends to investigate Krabi’s holy water after a disabled woman claimed she could walk again after drinking it. The holy water is prepared by putting a miracle rock in water that was found in the area. Locals believe the rock has magical qualities. A shaman then conducts a ceremony to conjure a spirit…
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1 thousand people celebrate start of Buddhist festival at Pattaya temple
About 1,000 people celebrated the start of a Buddhist festival at a temple in Pattaya on Sunday. The Nong Or Temple had a kick-off event for the Thod Kathin Festival with about 1,000 people in attendance. Photos show a happy crowd of attendees smiling and clapping, as well as attendees presenting offerings to a monk. The Thod Kathin Festival begins…
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Thailand is 1 billion baht short for World Cup 2022 broadcasting license
Thailand’s National Broadcasting Commission (NBTC) approved a 600 million baht budget today to purchase broadcasting rights so that Thais can watch the Fifa World Cup 2022 on TV. However, broadcasting rights cost 1.6 billion baht leaving Thailand one billion baht ($US27.2 million) short with just 11 days to go to kick-off. The NBTC committee sat down at 9.30am today and…
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Superstitious man arrested after stabbing friend to test his immortality
The superstitious man who stabbed to death a friend to test his immortality has been arrested in Chon Buri. Officers from Tha Ruer Police Station reported to Thai media today that 51 year old Withun Ochapon was arrested last night for the murder of 44 year old Auttapon on Sunday, November 6 at his wife’s house in the Phan Thong district of…
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Kush House: Bangkok’s most unique cannabis dispensary
You are invited to the grand opening of Kush House cannabis dispensary, in the heart of Bangkok, tonight at 9pm. Two things set Kush House apart from other cannabis stores in Thailand: Thai Traditional Medicine and art. The visually striking atmosphere at Kush House – conveniently located at the entrance of Sukhumvit 22 – has been carefully crafted to give…
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Mass tree-planting planned for Phuket beach after illegal structures removed
After police removed removed illegal structures from a beach in Phuket‘s Thalang district, they now plan to recover the beach’s nature. Phuket Vice Governor Amnuay announced at a meeting on Monday that a mass tree-planting would start at Layan Beach on Tuesday, November 15. The tree-planting event will begin at 9am, and will include a beach cleanup, he said. Amnuay…
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Teen boasts he escaped murder charge because his family is rich
An 18 year old allegedly boasted on social media that he escaped being charged with the murder of a 14 year old boy because his family is rich and powerful. Thai social media is outraged that 18 year old Dome killed 14 year old Fluck and bragged about it on Twitter. Netizens are furious after seeing the trending hashtag on…
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Could rats save people from disaster zones?
Could rats save the day when disaster strikes? A Belgian organisation is training rats to search for survivors in disaster zones. The organisation, APOPO, says that rats’ small size and strong sense of smell make them ideal for locating things in tight spaces. APOPOP has been training dogs and rats at its base in Morogoro, Tanzania to use their sense…
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PayPal to lock out Thai users at end of month
Most PayPal users in Thailand will be locked out of the service next month unless they jump through a series of complex and quite silly hoops that are intelligible only to Thai citizens. After a year of nothing but statements, PayPal told customers this morning that they cannot use the service after December 15 unless they take “certain actions” that,…
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VIDEO: Billowing fire spoils Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai
Thousands of glistening paper lanterns lighting up the night sky in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, disappeared into a thick plume of smoke after a foam pagoda went up in flames in the middle of the Yi Peng Lantern Festival celebrations last night. Billowing smoke rose into the sky after a lantern fell on top of the flammable replica pagoda, made…
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Man stabbed to death by superstitious friend
A man was stabbed to death yesterday by a superstitious friend who believed an amulet the victim wore made him immortal. The delusional offender, who was only released from prison last year after murdering someone else, wanted to test the victim’s mortality by stabbing him. Police reported that 44 year old Auttapon Na Nakhon was stabbed to death by his…
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Thai women tricked into sex work in Nigeria seek help
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thailand is on a mission to rescue a group of Thai women stuck in Nigeria who claim they were offered work as masseuses but forced into prostitution instead. Last week, relatives of the women sought help from Paveena Hongsakul, who is a Thai women’s rights and children’s rights activist, ex-Minister of Social Development and…
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12 people injured by illegal fireworks in Loy Krathong event
A Loy Krathong festival celebration almost turned into a tragedy last night when 12 people were injured by illegal fireworks set off at the event in the northern province of Nakhon Phanom. The Meung Nakhon Phanom mayor announced the victims only suffered mild injuries. Nakhon Phanom provincial governor, other officers, and hundreds of residents joined the grand opening ceremony of…
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Police in central Thailand offer cash reward to help nab gold shop robber
Police in Thailand’s central province of Ayutthaya is offering a cash reward to help catch a gold shop robber. The robber got away with 95 baht weight in gold jewellery worth over 2.8 million baht on November 4, and he still hasn’t been caught. The robber fired shots at the store’s showcase at Lotus Department Store’s Sena branch, before running…
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Police arrest 2 Chinese mafia chiefs, 3 slip the net
Thailand’s deputy national police chief revealed yesterday that the authorities have captured two heads of Chinese mafia gangs in the kingdom. Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate ‘Big Joke’ Hakparn announced a covert undercover operation managed to successfully arrest two mafia chiefs adding that three heads of illegal activities managed to escape their clutches, fleeing the country on private…
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Chon Buri man attacks beachgoer with knife
A Chon Buri man attacked a beachgoer with a knife in the Sri Racha district on Monday night. The attacker pulled up in a white pickup truck, and suddenly jumped out and cut the victim’s elbow with a knife, according to the victim. The incident happened at an early Loy Krathong site on Ban Laem Chabang Beach. After cutting the…
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Teacher murders her 5 year old autistic son in southern Thailand
Today, a teacher at a famous school in Hat Yai murdered her autistic 5 year old son by smothering him with a pillow in Songkhla Province, southern Thailand. After the murder, she tried to commit suicide by drinking toilet cleaner but ended up critically ill in hospital. Officers from Hat Yai Police Station were called to the scene – a condo…
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Thai actress defies laws to build house on Koh Samui mountain
Locals in Koh Samui in the southern province of Surat Thani filed a complaint with authorities after a luxury house belonging to a Thai actress was built on a mountain area that belongs to the government. Officers from the Department of Land and Royal Forest Department yesterday investigated the house, and land around where the building is under construction, in…
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Over 3 million people in Thailand living below poverty line, census shows
Over 3 million people in Thailand were living below the poverty line as of January this year, according to a government census agency. The Thai People Map and Analytics Platform (TPMAP) surveyed 36.1 million people across Thailand and found that 3.44 million were living without their basic needs being met. This categorised them as poor. The survey found that 1.02…
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First LOT Polish Airlines flight arrives in Phuket
Phuket International airport welcomed its first LOT Polish Airlines flight yesterday. The flight carried 252 passengers from Warsaw to Phuket. Officials and staff greeted the passengers and handed them HKT We Care souvenirs upon arrival, The Phuket Express reported. This news comes after an inaugural flight from Uzbekistan arrived in Phuket on Sharq Airlines just last week. The flight carried…
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VIDEO: Bat-eating YouTuber sparks outrage in Thailand
Netizens in Thailand are outraged at a Thai YouTuber with 400,000 subscribers for eating bat soup – and encouraging others to eat bat meat – on her channel ‘Gin Zap Bep Nua Nua’ (“Eat spicy and delicious.”) The YouTuber confidently rips apart the bats, swimming in a mud-coloured soup with cherry tomatoes, and dips the meat in Nam Jim, a…
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Pubs, gas stations, 24-hour stores to close early to save energy
The Energy Ministry of Thailand plans to close pubs, gas stations, and 24-hour convenience stores early to save energy if the situation gets worse. The Permanent Secretary of the Energy Ministry, Kurit Sombatsiri, revealed the conclusions from the energy crisis meeting between Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and the Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO) yesterday. Kurit explained that the increasing…
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British man sentenced for rape in UK flees to Thailand
A British man sentenced to eight years in jail for rape is believed to have fled to Thailand. A jury found Michael Foster unanimously found guilty of rape in absentia in September, reported Lancashire Police. Yesterday, he was found guilty once more at Preston Crown Court. The 35 year old man, formerly of Fishwick Parade, Preston, was given eight years…
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Thailand pulls the plug on foreign land ownership regulation
The Thai government has already pulled the plug on the draft ministerial regulation that would open up new foreign land ownership options in Thailand. The regulation proposed allowing foreigners who hold a 10-year Long Term Resident visa to buy a property and/or land of up to one rai in Thailand, given they invest a minimum of 40 million baht into Thailand…
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Thai police accused of using power to get free food & drinks
Officers from Krathum Ban Police Station in Samut Sakhon province near Bangkok have been accused of using their power to get free food and drinks from a bar in the province. Celebrity Thai lawyer Sittha Biabangkird claimed yesterday that a number of police officers frequent a bar named Good Zone several times a month, order food and drinks and allegedly…
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