Hot News
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Sponsored 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
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I flew home to get a new visa – one person’s experience with the “new normal” in Thailand
Theo, from The Netherlands, flew back from Thailand to arrange a new visa in his home country. When he returned he had to stay in an Alternative State Quarantine hotel in Bangkok. What were his challenges? How much did it all cost? I am from the Netherlands, I am 44 years old, married with my Thai wife for over 5 years…
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Thai immigration police arrest foreigners with fake IDs
Thai immigration officials have arrested 2 Pakistani men who were using fake Thai identification cards. Now the officers have opened an investigation to see if more foreigners might be connected to the case and are living in Thailand with a fake ID. Immigration officials in Pattani, in the far south of Thailand, were recently tipped off about a foreigner with…
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Will Phuket’s ‘safe and sealed’ campaign attract foreign tourists?
Summer starts to wane in the northern hemisphere with thoughts of autumn leaves and, then, colder weather. Naturally the eyes of the world’s travellers, largely cooped up inside their own borders since March, look at their suitcases and ponder a trip… to Thailand! That’s now a possibility although there are plenty of hoops to jump through in Thailand’s planned re-opening…
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Monk allegedly sexually abused 12 year old boy
A Phetchaburi monk allegedly sexually abused a 12 year old boy, police say. The sixth grade student told police the monk sexually abused him 3 times. A complaint was filed by the boy’s mother and representatives from a child rights foundation. The boy is from a remote village in Hua Hin called Pa La-u where the monk would often visit…
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Want to go to prison? Thailand’s prisons may become tourist attractions
Yes. Really. Prisons could become more like zoos in Thailand as those locked behind bars could become part of a grand plan to turn dozens of prisons into tourist attractions. Sounds bizarre, but it’s a real proposal from the Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin who announced the idea yesterday. 72 of Thailand’s 143 prisons could be open to tourists as soon…
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Student activist arrested on charges from protesting
Police arrested a student while he protesting outside a market PM Prayut Chan-o-cha was visiting. The student Panupong Jadnok, known as Mike Rayong, was holding up a sign saying “1,000 rai sea reclamation. What will Rayong people get?” Apparently Mike’s land reclamation protest didn’t have much to do with his arrest. He had an arrest warrant for his role in…
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Student representatives accuse teachers of bullying, call on Education Ministry to act
Student groups have met with officials at the Thai Education Ministry and submitted a letter urging the ministry to take action against teachers they accuse of intimidation. The students say they are being bullied for expressing their political views at school. There’s been an outbreak of student involvement in the pro-democracy voices in the country. It has spread from the…
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Facebook blocks page critical of the Thai Monarchy
“Access to this group has been restricted within Thailand pursuant to a legal request from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.” Facebook has blocked a popular group page that’s known for being critical of the Thai Monarchy. The social media platform may have faced defamation charges from the Thai government if the content was not taken down. The group…
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Thailand plans for global cannabis trade
Thailand is getting into the global cannabis trade. Government officials are drafting up a law that would consider medical cannabis as an economic crop, meaning it would be allowed to be exported to other countries. They plan to reach markets in throughout Asia, Europe and the United States. The draft also focuses on the cultivation of cannabis and Thai hemp.…
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Student charged with fatal recklessness for cheerleader’s death
A university student is charged with fatal recklessness after she allegedly ordered a cheerleader at practice to run until she collapsed. 19 year old Phornphiphat “Nong Mint” Eaddam, a first year student at Rajabhat University in Phuket, died at a local hospital. The second year student known as Prae allegedly forced the first year student to run 8 laps at…
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Monarchy critic faces charges for Facebook page
A popular critic of Thailand and Thai politics is facing charges for a Facebook group he runs that is critical of the Thai Monarchy. The private group “Royalist Marketplace,” run by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, has more than 1 million followers. Some of the supporters have been spotted at recent pro-democracy protests holding Royalist Marketplace signs. A complaint was filed by Ministry…
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Phuket’s ‘safe and sealed’ plan does nothing for the majority of the island’s hospitality sector
OPINION Damned if they do and damed if they don’t. Thailand is now taking a decisive step towards reopenits its borders to tourists with a pilot project in Phuket this October. The pilot precedes the annual high-season, and if successful, then will form the basis of a wider push for re-opening the country’s borders to the lucrative tourist market. TAT…
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Anger as officials visit home of child who made 3-fingered salute – VIDEO
Thai social media is awash with outrage following a visit by government officials to the home of a kindergarten student who used the anti-government 3-fingered salute. CCTV footage, which shows officials arriving to talk to the girl’s parents, has been posted on Facebook, along with a message questioning the reason for the visit. “The authorities are looking for Om Yim,…
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Thai nationals overseas voice support for anti-government protesters
As anti-government protests continue in the Kingdom, similar rallies are taking place overseas, driven by Thai nationals living abroad. The Bangkok Post reports that a Scotland-based group, known as Thais Rise Up, is planning a rally in Edinburgh on August 29. In solidarity with its fellow citizens in Thailand, the group is calling for the Thai parliament to be dissolved…
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Opposition party suggests 3 amendments to Thai constitution
Thailand’s opposition Kao Klai Party is proposing 3 amendments to the nation’s constitution, without affecting the chapters related to the monarchy or Thai sovereignty. The party suggests forming a Constitution Drafting Assembly, with the members directly elected by the Thai people. Their suggested changes to the constitution include abolishing the appointed Senate and cancelling all orders issued by the military…
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Thai expats show their support for local pro-democracy protests
The protests have been popping up around Thailand, and overseas. Support of the pro-democracy demands by students and activists has spread beyond the borders of Thailand. A group, calling themselves ‘Thais Rise Up” in Scotland says they are holding their own rally at the end of this week in Edinburgh with same demands – to call for the dissolution of the…
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Royal Thai Navy front media today to explain purchase of 2 Chinese submarines
After the outcry over a house budget committee’s decision to approve the purchase of another 2 Chinese submarine’s last week, the Royal Thai Navy will front the media today to explain the controversial 22.5 billion baht acquisition. A Royal Thai Navy source has told Thai PBS World that “a clarification is necessary”, because members from the Pheu Thai party had…
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Report: US President Trump’s sister slams him as “cruel” and “a liar” in secret recordings
In a shock revelation, secretly made recordings reveal that Maryanne Trump Barry, the older sister of US President Donald Trump, described him as “cruel” and a “liar”, whose lack of principles meant he could “not be trusted.” The recordings, obtained by the Washington Post, were published yesterday. They are the latest unflattering insider account to target the president, but instead…
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Murder suspect captured after motorbike crash
Police in the southern province of Surat Thani say a man with 3 arrest warrants, 1 each for for murder, attempted murder and robbery, was caught after a motorcycle incident in the early hours of this morning in the city’s central district. The Surat Thani police chief said that at about 12.10am a motorcycle ran off the road at a…
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Pattaya tipped to stage huge airshow in 2023
Officials in Pattaya confirmed this week that the resort town is slated to hold a major international airshow in 2023 at the U-Tapao airport. The event is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors and to be the biggest-ever airshow in Asia. A spokesman for the Pattaya City Business and Tourism Association confirmed the announcement and said the show…
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Heavyweight doctors oppose Phuket plan to admit tourists
A number of prominent physicians, some advisors to the Ministry of Public Health and the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, have posted on social media this weekend that they strongly oppose opening Thailand to tourists in any way, shape or form. Their concerns follow the government’s announcement yesterday of its plan to cautiously reopen the southern resort island of Phuket…
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Grandmother sentenced for pimping granddaughter
A grandmother in Thailand’s South has been given a 55 year prison sentence for offering her 14 year old granddaughter for sex to a local politician. The Foundation for Children, Youth and Families announced yesterday that the court handed the sentence to the defendant, identified as Sakol Phodee, on Wednesday. Chuwit Jantaros, secretary-general of the foundation said the court found…
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Justice Ministry, DSI seize over half a billion baht in assets from drug traffickers
The Thai-language daily Thai Rath reported yesterday that the Justice Ministry, together with the Department of Special Investigation, this week seized cash and assets valued at more than half a billion baht from drug traders in Bangkok, neighbouring Samut Sakhon and Samut Prakan provinces, and Chon Buri. The assets seized on Wednesday alone include 1,000 baht weight of gold bars…
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Charges expected in Phuket student’s death
Rajabhat University in the southern province of Phuket is denying reports that a first-year student was forced to run around an old mine on the campus until she collapsed and later died. University officials say the incident took place in a parking lot, maintaining that it was part of a sports activity and not a hazing ritual. Police say they…
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Can the Thai government put the cat back in the bag?
OPNION Who will be better at engaging a broad audience on social media? An incumbent conservative government run by former Army general and career politicians? Or a young, nimble, motivated group who are intuitive when it comes to using the modern online platforms? This is the current pickle for Thailand’s government, under the leadership of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and his…
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Thai government pull 2 propaganda music clips from YouTube after 99% ‘thumbs down’
Upload a YouTube clip and people can watch the clips, ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ them and comment. Of course you want to see more thumbs up, than thumbs down. Now the Thai government have taken down 2 video clips, musical propaganda posted on YouTube by their Department of Public Relations, after they were overwhelmingly disliked by viewers. Less than 1% of…
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Ailing Kremlin critic Navalny “stable” after move to Berlin
Outspoken Russian opposition leader and frequent critic of President Vladimir Putin Alexei Navalny is in stable condition after arriving in Berlin by air ambulance yesterday, following a suspected poisoning. According to the the head of Cinema for Peace, the German NGO that chartered the flight after the plane touched down at Tegel airport in Berlin: “Navalny’s condition is stable.” 1…
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Official faces encroachment charge, American’s home seized in Petchabun
A senior official of the Office of the PM is facing encroachment charges after the seizure of a house built by an American man near Khao Kho national park in the northern Phetchabun province. Authorities filed a police report following an investigation by a team of forestry officials, soldiers and local authorities at the site on Thursday evening. They were…
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80% of Pattayans support monorail project
Authorities at a public hearing in Pattaya heard that 80% of local residents support plans to build a monorail to ease the resort town’s appalling traffic and transport problems. The proposed monorail would meet the proposed High Speed train at the station to the east of Sukhumvit Road, then travel along the motorway and along Sukhumvit before heading toward the…
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Transport Department clarifies “big bike” licencing rule
The Deparment of Land Transport yesterday clarified the recently announced licencing requirement for drivers of “big bikes” ie larger more powerful motorcycles than the 110-150cc scooters normally seen on Thai streets. The definition will be bikes with engines of 400CC and up, according to the department’s deputy director-general. Applicants for these licenses will have to be trained and tested separately…
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