Hot News
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Sponsored Pre-existing conditions? These expat insurance plans still have you covered
Many expats feel worried that their pre-existing health problems will stop them from getting insurance in a new country. This fear is common, especially when medical care can be expensive. But the good news is, some insurance, like the plans...
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Court denies bail to Thai policewoman who allegedly kept soldier as a slave
Ratchaburi Provincial Court yesterday denied bail to the policewoman who allegedly kept a female soldier as a “slave” and tortured her for two years in central Thailand. The 43 year old policewoman, who worked for the Special Branch Bureau, allegedly manipulated and tortured the 30 year old soldier by forcing her to work as a slave, hitting her with a…
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AirAsia Thailand launches Bangkok to Fukuoka flights October 12
Following suit of Thai Vietjet last month, AirAsia Thailand will launch direct flights from Bangkok to Fukuoka, Japan. The flights are scheduled to commence on October 12 and fly from Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok’s secondary airport that caters to low-cost carriers like AirAsia. To celebrate the launch, the airline is offering promotional fares on sale from now until August…
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Court grants bail to salon owner who murdered couple over haircut in central Thailand
The salon owner who murdered an unhappy customer and her husband – both TV stars – in front of their young daughter in Pathum Thani on Saturday has been released on bail for 500,000 baht. Pathum Thani Provincial Court decided to grant bail to 51 year old Prasart Rangyai yesterday afternoon on the condition he wears an electronic monitoring (EM)…
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Massive poll finds over 93% want PM Prayut to leave office now
With just one day before PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s premiership expires, the Constitutional Court still has not ruled if he can continue as Thailand’s leader or not, but the court of public opinion has spoken. A new phone survey from a group of universities, TV stations, and online media found that a whopping 93.17% of people do not want PM Prayut…
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UPDATE: Famous Thai actress “Pinky” jailed for Forex-3D scam, denied bail
UPDATE Famous actress “Pinky” faces up to 20 years in prison for fraud for her involvement in a Forex-3D “Ponzi” scam that defrauded over 14,000 victims. Pinky, her mother, and her brother are still detained as they await trial. Committing fraud carries up to five years imprisonment for each victim in Thailand, causing speculation in Thai media that Pinky could…
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Is the 10-year visa attracting Europeans and others to Thailand?
Officials in Thailand have been heavily pushing the new 10-year golden visa options for digital nomads and rich expats, with Europeans as a primary demographic, but is it really a big draw? The government has predicted that one million wealthy tourists will jump at the chance to live long-term in Thailand over the next five years, but the programme that…
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Save power – government will pay half to clean your aircon
To help people struggling with the rising costs of electricity, the Thai government has offered to cover half the cost of having your aircon cleaned. A dirty air conditioner with a clogged filter can be unhealthy, and can significantly increase your aircon bill, so the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) is repeating its previous “Clean Your Air for the…
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China requests a five-time increase in flights to Thailand
A rise in Chinese tourism to Thailand may be on the horizon shortly as the Civil Aviation Administration of China has requested quintupling the number of flights between the two countries. There are currently three flights a week between Thailand and China but the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand announced that they received a letter from the CAAC asking to…
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Election Commission discussing prime minister term limit today
With what many believe to be the end of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s eight-year term limit just three days away, the Election Commission will discuss today the legal debate over if he can remain in the prime minister seat in any capacity beyond August 24. That date marks eight years since PM Prayut took office, and the current constitution allows a…
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Fight over haircut in salon ends with man and wife dead
Iconic French fashion designer Coco Chanel once said, “A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life.” Unfortunately, following a tragic incident in a Pathum Thani salon, a woman lost her life, as did her husband, after an allegedly bad haircut ended in violence. The incident took place yesterday afternoon in a mall in the Greater Bangkok…
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Policewoman blames mental illness for torturing her maid
A policewoman facing accusations of torturing a female soldier who worked as her maid, turned herself in yesterday, claiming she has mental health issues. The twisted tale involved a 43 year old policewoman with the Special Branch Bureau claiming to be a senator’s wife and manipulating a 30 year old woman to work in indentured servitude for several years. The…
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100 masseuses in Phuket complain of 150 baht massage shop
Local massage shops in Phuket are complaining that another massage shop allegedly owned by a foreigner is offering unfair and possibly illegal half-price services. A coalition of about 100 masseuses banded together to file an official complaint, gathering at Phuket Provincial City Hall to ask for action from authorities on the matter. Karon Traditional Thai Massage Community Enterprise Group led…
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Baldwin deflects blame, expects no charges over gun accident
In a rare interview regarding the tragic gun accident on the set of his film “Rust” which left the cinematographer dead, Alec Baldwin deflected blame and said he didn’t believe anyone would be criminally charged over the incident. The accident happened when a prop gun that Baldwin was to fire toward the camera somehow was loaded with live ammunition which…
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Visa extensions for foreign visitors to Thailand coming in October
It’s official, that Thailand’s CCSA has said yes to longer visas for foreign travellers to the country. Starting October 1 this year, the exemption period extension for foreign visitors will be extended from 30 days to 45 days. Meanwhile, the visa-on-arrival scheme will go from 15 days to 30 days, the CCSA announced yesterday. The visa extensions will last until…
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Thailand’s CCSA talk tourist stats, visas on arrival & home isolation
Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Administration Situation (CCSA) met with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha today, August 19, to talk about coronavirus-related topics and foreign arrivals. The CCSA said Thailand is transiting into the “post-pandemic stage.” The CCSA said Thailand’s Covid situation is improving and its classification is changing from a “serious communicable disease” to a “communicable disease under surveillance.” Home Isolation…
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Alleged kidnapper arrested, girl reunited with parents after months
A man who allegedly kidnapped a young girl in Phuket in February was arrested in South Thailand on Tuesday. The victim, a 13 year old girl, has been reunited with her parents. The suspect, 33 year old Somsak, allegedly kidnapped the girl on Rawai Beach in the main city district of Phuket, where she had been selling flowers. The girl’s…
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Famous Thai actress “Pinky” jailed for Forex-3D scam, denied bail
Famous Thai actress Savika “Pinky” Chaiyadej, her mother Sarinya Chaiyadej, and her elder brother Surayuth Chaiydej were among 19 people arrested yesterday for allegedly defrauding people of money via a “Forex-3D scam.” Thailand’s Criminal Court denied Pinky and her relatives’ bail requests, fearing the defendants would flee if they were granted temporary release. Pinky, Sarinya, and Sarayuth are accused of…
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South African’s life sentence reduced to 33 years for drug trafficking in Thailand
Koh Samui Court decided to reduce 23 year old Ashley Oosthuizen’s life sentence to 33.4 years at a hearing on Wednesday. Ashley, from South Africa, is behind bars in Nakhon Si Thammarat province in southern Thailand for signing for a package containing MDMA at a restaurant in Koh Samui in late 2020. She was found guilty of international drug trafficking.…
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Sri Lanka’s exiled president to head home after Thailand stay
Sri Lanka’s exiled president is planning to finally head home next week after staying in Thailand. The ousted leader, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has been on quite a journey ever since 100,000 angry protesters forced him to flee Sri Lanka on July 14. He first travelled to the Maldives and then to Singapore, where he was granted a temporary residence but without…
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‘Win’ motorbike taxi drivers protest against GrabBike in Bangkok, Thailand
In Bangkok, “Win” motorbike taxi drivers in orange jackets have monopolised the streets for years, whipping customers from place to place in record time, until the arrival of the Grab. Today at 12.30pm, more than 150 Win drivers honked their horns outside the Ministry of Transport in Bangkok to demand the removal of Grab’s GrabBike feature, which they say is…
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Man stabs wife’s secret lover to death in rice paddy in central Thailand
A man stabbed his wife’s suspected secret lover to death in a rice field last night in In Buri district in the central province of Sing Buri. Police are still tracking down the assailant, who fled the scene on a motorbike. At 9.55pm, officers from In Buri Police Station went to investigate after they received a report that two men…
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Teen soldier murders cousin for allegedly raping his mother
A 19 year old soldier was arrested for murdering his cousin in an act of revenge for allegedly raping his mother in Southern Thailand. The soldier, Watcharapong Lakejit, murdered his cousin, 36 year old Niphat Sookmak, on Tuesday night by stabbing him in the head with a knife. The teenager was arrested for the offence at 3am yesterday at a…
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2 men on a motorcycle rob a gas station in Chon Buri
Police are on the lookout for two opportunist thieves who robbed a gas station in Chon Buri yesterday. The two men arrived at the PTT gas station. No. 114/22, Village No. 2, Nong Samsak Sub-district, in the Ban Bueng subdistrict on a motorbike wearing full-face helmets and robbed about 6,000 baht in cash before fleeing the scene. Pol. Lt. Col. Ekachai Pakwat,…
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Thai govt open to cannabis recreation, not pot-smoking tourists
Thailand’s Public Health Minister made contradictory statements yesterday regarding the recreational use of cannabis. In one statement Anutin Charnvirakul said he was open to the further liberalisation of the drug and in another, he said pot-smoking tourists are not welcome in Thailand. “We don’t welcome those kinds of tourists,” said The 55 year old Bhumjaithai Party leader at a “Meet…
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Instant noodles, a staple budget food, fighting to increase prices
There is perhaps no symbol more synonymous with living on a tight budget than dining cheap with a cup of ramen instant noodles. So it’s an extra kick for those struggling during this time of hyperinflation in Thailand and around the world that instant noodles manufacturers have requested expedited permission to raise prices on their products. The Internal Trade Department…
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Truck overturns in NE Thailand, driver dies, losing 1.5 million baht of beer
A tow truck carrying 1.5 million baht’s worth of beer overturned as it went round a sharp turn on a road in Khon Kaen province, northeast Thailand, this morning. The driver was instantly killed in the accident. Peuai Noi Police Station received a call at 7.30am to say that an alcohol truck had overturned in the Pueai Noi district. Police,…
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Thailand Transport Ministry seeks foreign loans for new bridges
The Thai Transport Ministry revealed it is seeking foreign loans to build two new bridges in the southern provinces of Pattalung, and Krabi. The Rural Road Department, under the Transport Ministry, reported yesterday that they met with the Public Debt Management Office, and the World Bank, about the budget for two huge bridge projects in the south of Thailand. The…
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Motorcycle rider killed in multi-vehicle pile-up near Bangkok
A motorcycle rider died yesterday in a multi-vehicle pile-up in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok. Four vehicles were involved in the accident, including two motorbikes, two public buses, and a sedan car. The accident happened because a motorbike suddenly broke to allow an elderly person to cross the road, beneath a pedestrian overpass on Pibulsomgklam Road in the Mueng district of…
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Electricity prices soar 18% to 4.72 baht per unit next month
Electricity prices are already at a record high rate of 4 baht per unit, topping an eight-year old record, and have now been approved to surge another 18%. When global oil prices rocketed up to US$110 per barrel in 2014, Thai energy prices hit 3.96 baht per unit. Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for all forms of…
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Four national park officials indicted over Karen activist’s murder in western Thailand
Four national park officials have been indicted for the murder of Karen activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen. The four men are accused of abducting and murdering Billy in Kaeng Krachan National Park in the western province of Phetchaburi in 2014. Yesterday, the Office of the Attorney General informed the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) of its decision to indict the four…
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