News
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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72 year old grandmother raped and killed in Chumphon
PHOTOS: Daily News A Chumphon man returned from a short fishing trip to find that his wife was missing from the house. 72 year old Pornwichai looked everywhere but was unable to locate her. Eventually the family dog Bunnam came running to the house. Pornwichai said to his pet: “Have you seen your mum then?” The dog became agitated and…
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Foreigner found hanged from tree in Pattaya
PHOTO: Facebook/Pattaya Update News A local Pattaya resident has found an unidentified foreigner hanged from a tree in a vacant lot on upscale Pratumnak Hill. The man told police that he went into the area to relieve himself and noticed the foul stench. Forensics officers and members of the Sawang Boriboon rescue foundation worked with police at the waste ground…
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MasterChef Thailand responds to furore on social media
“Masterchef Thailand says no law had been broken by using the ray.” After the weekend controversy over the cooking of a stingray on the Thai MasterChef program, the program has issued a statement…. The statement issued yesterday says… “the stingray used in the cooking segment on MasterChef was Aetobatus Narinari (Eagle Ray) which are commonly found and eaten as local…
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Russian woman dies after falling from fourth floor in Patong
PHOTOS: Patong Police A Russian woman has died after falling from the fourth floor at a hotel in Patong earlier today. Patong Police were notified of the incident at the hotel on Ratchapatanusorn Road at 2.15am. The foreign woman was identified by police as 27 year old Elena Kusovnikova, a Russian national. Her body was on the ground in front…
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Future Forward deputy leader admits sharing fake news
The Future Forward party deputy leader Lt-Gen Pongsakorn Rodchompoo has told the Technology Crime Suppression Division police that he shared a fake news story about Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan. But he claims he had no way of knowing that it was fake. Thai PBS reports that Pol Lt-Gen Surachet Hakparn, commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, posted in Facebook today saying…
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Upstart Chinese start-up shades Samsung and Huawei
A Shenzhen-based manufacturer of flexible displays has launched, and is selling, the first workable flexible screen smartphone, beating Samsung and Huawei into the foldable market. At this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Samsung and Huawei made all the noise with their new $2,000 foldable phones. But they very secret with specs and not available for review with people clamoring…
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Weather for March 5
Bangkok Partly cloudy. High 33ºC. Winds S at 15 to 30 km/h. Phuket Partly cloudy. High 31ºC. NE winds shifting to WNW at 15 to 30 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 36ºC. Winds S at 10 to 15 km/h. Pattaya Partly cloudy. High 31ºC. Winds S at 15 to 30 km/h. Hua Hin Partly cloudy. High 32ºC. Winds S…
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Motorbike driver dies after collision with minivan in Thalang – VIDEO
A motorbike driver died soon after colliding with a minivan at a U-turn in Thalang yesterday. The Tha Chatchai Police were notified of the incident at 1.08pm yesterday on Thepkrasattri Road in Mai Khao. Police and emergency responders arrived to find the silver minivan waiting for police. Nearby they found a man, later identified as 55 year old Kreangsak Sanaewit,…
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Statistics don’t lie, agents do
OPINION Anyone currently involved in the Thailand property market will be happy to note that Thailand’s global ranking for transparency within its real estate market (Jones Lang LaSalle, 2014) has improved from 39th in 2012 to 34th in 2019. What does this actually mean for the majority of us? Unfortunately, the answer is very little indeed! With almost no…
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Royal Coronation schedule takes shape
His Majesty King Maha Vachiralongkorn has asked that his coronation ceremony should be ‘economical’ and ‘in line with Royal tradition’. The instructions have been forwarded to Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam, head of the coronation organising committee. The Coronation ceremonies will be held between May 4-6. Describing the ceremony as second only in importance to the Royal cremation of the late…
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18 busted in e-cigarette and vaping raid in bangkok
Whilst a new vaping and e-cigarette lobby group continue to push the government for a review on laws on vaping and e-cigarette products, the police are notching up more crackdowns on the sales of products related to vaping. Read about the lobby group HERE. Sixteen Thais and two Burmese men have been arrested in Bangkok for selling e-cigarette devices, nicotine…
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Event Round-Up – March 2019
The month kicks off with one of Thailand’s most unique and bizarre festivals and celebrations, that of the Tattoo Festival in Nakhon Chaisi in the province of Nakhon Pathom, around 50 kilometres west of Bangkok. Held at the Wat Bang Phra temple on 2 March, the festival also goes by the name Wai Kru Sak Yant after the spiritual tattoos…
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Three fined for fishing illegally in the Mu Koh Similan National Park
PHOTO: DNP Three men have been fined after they were found catching fish in Mu Koh Similan National Park area in Phang Nga yesterday. Private fishing is illegal inside the marine national park area. The head of the Mu Koh Similan National Park Ruamsin Manajongjaroen says that yesterday three men were fined after being discovered catching fish in the national…
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“Pattaya: Sex Capital of the World” – but tourism chief is determined to change image
Pattaya’s tourism office says that changing the seaside resort’s seedy image won’t happen overnight. But office chief Sinchai Watanasartsathorn says he is determined to work with both public and private to change Pattaya’s image. Sinchai, also a member of the chamber of commerce, was speaking to the Pattaya News following a story that appeared in the UK’s Mirror online website. The Mirror story…
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Whale shark sighted off Phang Nga – VIDEO
SCREENSHOT: Mu Koh Similan National Park Facebook / Sor Somboon 3 boat Another mighty whale shark has been sighted of Phang Nga yesterday, the latest in a recent series of positive sightings. Mu Koh Similan Nation Park officials confirmed that a whale shark was sighted at a deep diving point at Koh Tachai in Phang Nga yesterday at 4.30pm . The…
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Vaping network urges Thai authorities to rethink e-cigarette laws
“Thai authorities had demanded a 40,000 baht bribe from a Frenchwoman to free her after she was arrested for possessing an e-cigarette.” E-cigarette users are calling on the Thai government to quickly come up with appropriate solutions to regulate e-cigarettes, and clarify the current laws, in order to protect the country’s image among foreign tourists. The network say it also…
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44 baby leatherback sea turtles headed to sea in Phang Nga – VIDEO
PHOTO: DMCR A third group of baby leatherback sea turtles have now hatched on Kuekkak Beach and headed out to sea for their new life off the Takua Pa district in Phang Nga. A first batch of 48 baby leatherback sea turtles survived and headed straight for the Andaman Sea once they got their bearings on Kuek Kak Beach in…
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Weather for March 4
Bangkok Partly cloudy. High 33ºC. Winds S at 15 to 30 km/h. Phuket Partly cloudy. High 31ºC. E winds shifting to W at 15 to 25 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 37ºC. Winds S at 10 to 15 km/h. Pattaya Morning thunderstorms. High 31ºC. Winds S at 15 to 30 km/h. Chance of rain 80%. Hua Hin Partly cloudy,…
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Taxi driver arrested for cheating South Korean tourist in Bangkok – VIDEO
A taxi driver in Bangkok has been arrested after allegedly intimidating and overcharging a South Korean tourist passenger. The arrest from Tourist Police follows a user tagging the Tourist Police Bureau in a post in his Facebook post accusing a taxi driver of allegedly intimidating and overcharging the South Korean passenger using the taxi service from Siam Square to Rangsit…
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Two week+ wait for visa appointments at Thai Embassy in Vientiane, Laos
PHOTO: Waiting to get into the Thai Embassy in Vientiane Expect to wait up to two weeks if you want to visit the Royal Thai Embassy in Vientiane, Laos to apply for a tourist or non-immigrant visa. ThaiVisa reports that, since February 1, foreigners applying for tourist, non-immigrant or transit visas, will need to make an online appointment before submitting…
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76 Pangolins intercepted in Prachuap Khiri Khan
by Piyarat Nildee Police have seized 76 live pangolins with an estimated street value overseas around 10 million baht from a smuggler in Prachuap Khiri Khan. 45 year old Sompol Mekchai from Ratchaburi was stopped in Sam Roi Yot district early this morning after police suspected he was trying to evade their checkpoint on the Phetchkasem Highway.Seeing his pickup suddenly swerve onto…
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Flying into history, the mighty Airbus A380
In an era where airlines are now run by accountants instead of pioneers, aviators or passionate flyers, it’s no wonder we’re seeing the passing of an important aviation milestone this week. The Airbus A380, a passenger favourite, failed to ignite the interest it needed to sustain new orders and and a continuation of the program of building, selling and servicing…
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14 injured in bus crash in Prachuap Khiri Khan
PHOTO: ปูดำนิวส์ A tour bus has flipped over in the middle of the main road through Prachuap Khiri Khan last night around midnight. The accident happened at the Phetkasem Road 371 kilometer marker (distance from Bangkok). Up to 14 people have been injured in the incident, four of them seriously. The injured were rushed to hospital as rescuers helped free…
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Five metre king cobra caught in Kathu
PHOTOS: Pannakorn Pongpao/Kathu Rescue Foundation/Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation A five metre king cobra has been caught at a worker’s house in Kathu. Kusoldharm Rescue workers were notified of the king cobra discovered by a worker next to his house in the Kathu – Nakoh road in Kathu last night. Nokoh Road runs behind the Loch Palm Golf Course, between Kathu and…
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Chinese resurgence, Russian stability feature in tourist arrivals for the start of 2019
The Chinese returned in numbers at the start of 2019 giving the Land of Smiles a spectacular start for the year with a total of 3.7 million visitors in January 2019. This was a nearly 5% rise in total tourist numbers from the same month last year. Mainland China continues to lead Thailand’s source market with just over a million arrivals…
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Driver slams sedan into bedroom of house killing baby and injuring others
PHOTO: Facebook / Ake Srisuwan A couple’s one year old son died and three family members were injured after a car slammed into the bedroom on the lower floor in the main city district of Pathum Thani early Saturday. The incident happened in Tambon Ban Mai around 2.30am. Pathum Thani is the province just north of Bangkok. The family, along with…
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Five Thais die after their car plunges into a Laos ravine
Five Thai tourists were killed in a car accident just over the north-eastern border in Laos. The incident occurred when their car plunged down a deep ravine in Luang Prabang. The popular tourist region is approximately 300 kilometers north of the Lao capital Vientiane. Yesterday’s fatal crash was reported at 10pm last night by Lao authorities to the rescue unit…
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The Patong Bay Hill Resort – where your holiday begins!
Nestled into the hills above Phuket’s popular Patong Beach, the modern Patong Bay Hill Resort is a luxurious resort which overlooks the ocean and the eclectic neighborhood below. Welcome to Patong Bay Hill Resort Set in a beautifully landscaped garden, Patong Bay Hill Resort is set amongst the natural, tropical environment of Patong’s Hasib-pee Hill. The resort offers majestic panoramic…
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Drunk pickup driver kills one, injures two others in Chalong
A drunk pickup truck driver has collided with cars and motorbikes at a traffic light in Chalong. One person has died, two others are injured and six vehicles are damaged. Chalong Police were notified of the incident at an intersection on Chao Fa East Road near Wat Tai (Ladthiwanaram Temple) at 1.50pm yesterday. Chalong Police and emergency responders arrived to…
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Burn baby burn – The Netflix cash strategy to stay on top
Netflix, the online TV streaming service, is gaining more viewers in the US and around the world, but is burning through astonishing amounts of cash in producing new content. In 2018 Netflix churned through $3 billion in losses. Negative cash flow that accelerated to $1.3 billion in Q4, more than double the year before. But it’s all a part of…
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