Hot News
Stay updated with the latest Hot News in Thailand, featuring in-depth reporting and analysis of local events and goings on! We bring you breaking news, in-depth reports, and exclusive interviews covering a wide range of Thailand-focused topics, from Crime and Politics to Tourism and Business.
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Sponsored Common health concerns for expats in Thailand: Prevention and protection
Moving to Thailand as an expat offers adventure, vibrant culture, and an excellent lifestyle, but it also brings some health challenges that might not be familiar to you. From tropical diseases to climate-related conditions, understanding common health concerns and knowing...
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National police chief arrives on Phuket as officers investigate Jimi Sandhu murder
National police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk has arrived on the southern island of Phuket as investigating officers step up the hunt for those behind the murder of an Indian national on Friday night. The man, named by various sources as Jimi Singh Sandhu, was shot dead outside his Rawai villa in the south of the island. According to a Bangkok Post…
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Samsung builds phones with old fishing nets, bets you’ll pay premium prices
Your next Samsung smartphone will certainly come with a hefty price tag, despite presumably less premium materials. But you can feel good about it because, who knows, you might be saving the whales. In a Sunday press release on their website, Samsung announced it has created a new material “made with repurposed ocean-bound discarded fishing nets,” which it plans to…
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Calls for campaign to teach drivers to stop at red lights (yes, really)
The secretary-general of the Medical Council of Thailand has called for a campaign to educate Thai drivers about the need to stop at red lights and pedestrian crossings. In a post on his Facebook page, Ittaporn Kanacharoen says drivers need to be taught about the rights of pedestrians and the need to give way at zebra crossings and red traffic…
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Fear of back taxes preventing some businesses from participating in government co-payment scheme
Signs are popping up outside restaurants and shops across Thailand, advising customers that they don’t accept payment via the government’s 50/50 stimulus scheme. Thai PBS World reports that a number of businesses are refusing to participate in the Khon La Khrueng (Let’s Go Halves) subsidy scheme, fearful that the government will come along and claim back taxes further down the…
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Australia to finally open to tourists in March
Vaccinated international tourists will finally be allowed to enter Australia again in March. The country’s borders shut exactly two years before that in March 2020. Skilled migrants and international students were only allowed back in December 2021. But now that Covid-19 cases are down in all states except Western Australia, Australia’s home affairs minister says she’s making the opening a…
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UPDATE: Spotify removes over 100 old Joe Rogan Experience episodes
Streaming service Spotify has now removed 113 episodes of the highly popular Joe Rogan Experience from its platform. It follows an apology from Joe Rogan, for using racial slurs on his podcasts and comes just 2 weeks after another controversy regarding criticism of apparently misleading Covid-19 guests and conversations. The Instagram apology isn’t directly related to the mounting criticism over some…
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VIDEO: Phuket police search for 2 gunmen over shooting death of Jimi “Slice” Sandhu
Police are still investigating the shooting of a former “gangster” who had been deported from Canada 6 years ago. 32 year old Indian Jimi “Slice” Sandhu, was gunned down while getting out of his red SUV around 10pm on Friday night in Rawai, Phuket. He was a former ‘person-of-interest’ for police in British Columbia, Canada, referred to as a “gangster”…
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In Bangkok, almost 90% of cars, motorbikes, public vehicles still don’t stop at zebra crossings
A health organisation and a road safety organisation teamed up to study how many cars, motorbikes, and public vehicles stop for pedestrians at 12 zebra crossings in Bangkok. They found that altogether, 89% wouldn’t stop. For motorcycles, the rate was 92% of 6,449 motorcycles that wouldn’t stop. For cars, the rate was 86% of 7,619. For public vehicles it was…
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Ex-deputy attorney general from Red Bull case applies join NACC
The controversial ex-deputy attorney who chose not to indict the Red Bull heir who killed a policeman in a hit-and-run accident in 2012 applied for a seat on Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) on Thursday. The former attorney general, Nate Naksuk, told Thai PBS in an interview that he wants to prove his innocence, and spend the rest of his…
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Petrochemical firm apologises for oil spill in Rayong
The oil firm that is responsible for an oil spill off the coast of Rayong along the eastern Gulf of Thailand e on January 25, has now apologised for the spill. Although the estimated amount of spilled oil was over 50,000 litres, the firm insists it was only 47,000. The firm, Star Petroleum Refining Company Limited, 60% owned by the…
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UPDATE: Gunmen shoot dead a deported Canadian ‘gangster’ in Rawai, Phuket
A former British Columbia “gangster”, who was deported from Canada 6 years ago for “serious criminality”, has been shot to death in Rawai, Phuket. 32 year old Jimi “Slice” Sandhu, was gunned down while getting out of his car around 10pm last night. Sandhu, who the Vancouver Sun report was affiliated with the ‘United Nations’ gang, was the alleged owner…
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Police crack down on gambling in Samut Prakan and Pathum Thani
Police found a gambling network in an unregistered house in Pathum Thani last night. They seized 112,700 baht in assets and gambling equipment, and arrested forty-two people. They then raided a house in Samut Prakan, and seized 49,300 baht in cash and betting slips. They also seized a security camera system and gambling equipment. In total, 85 people were arrested,…
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Sri Racha’s hemp-marijuana festival starts February 9
Festival organisers will host an event promoting marijuana for health benefits, even though they note that recreational smoking is still illegal in Thailand. The festival is called “Hemp-Marijuana, King of Herbs,” and will last from February 9-14 at the Pacific Park Shopping Mall in Sri Racha. The festival will have concerts, 24 booths that will teach people how to grow…
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Thai staffer arrested after secret cameras found in female toilets at Bangkok’s Australian Embassy
Thai police have now arrested a former staff member at Australia’s embassy in Bangkok. The arrest follows the discovery of of hidden “spy” cameras in the embassy’s female bathrooms. The former embassy staffer was arrested last month. At this stage it is not known how long the cameras had been in place, what they recorded or whose privacy has been…
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Prayut tells Bangkok vocational students to stop violence
After police found more than 32 knives, and gun ammunition at one Bangkok university on Thursday, PM Prayut has called on students and alumni to end to the violence. Police searched the school grounds of the Uthenthawai campus of Rajamangala University of Technology after a video of students firing guns into the air went viral on Wednesday. Uthenthawai is one…
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Thailand wins “most popular destination” and other awards from Chinese travel magazines
Many Chinese travel magazines are calling Thailand a top tourist destination, even if it’s very difficult for the Chinese to travel at this time. The Travel Weekly China Award called Thailand “The most anticipated destination- short haul.” WITrip Magazine called it “2021 most popular overseas travel destination.” Online Travel Agent Thong Cheng called it “the most popular destination.” The Tourism…
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Thai PM – “I will stay on as long as the law allows”
“I will stay on as long as the law allows. I am bound by the law, and cannot do anything at will.” Words from Thailand’s PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday, vowing that he will only stay on in the top job whilst the law allows him too. He also reminded reporters that there are two organic laws regarding elections in Thailand…
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NFTs explained – What is it and how does it work
NFTs has been gaining popularity over the past two years. From art and music to Jack Dorsey’s first tweet and toilet paper, these digital assets are selling for up to millions of dollars. In December 2021, an anonymous artist Pak sold 266,445 shares of his NFT Merge for $91.8 million on Nifty Gateway. He is now known as the most…
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Foreigner steals 3,600 baht from Phuket cab driver
A Phuket cab driver caught a foreigner stealing 3,600 baht from his cab on camera last Sunday, January 30. The driver works for the inDriver app. He had stopped to get out of the car for a bathroom break when the foreign man snatched the cash into his pocket from the centre console between the two front seats. The driver…
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Phuket vice governor says water shortage not a concern
Phuket’s vice governor announced yesterday in a meeting that even though the island’s rainfall was below average in 2021, there was still lots of water from the three main reservoirs, and water shortage is “not a concern.” He said plans still need to be made to prevent water shortages in Phuket, though. Phuket had severe water shortages in 2019 and…
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Another day, another data breach: Thai students’ data hacked, sold on dark web
The personal information of over 23,000 students has been stolen as a result of the Thai University Central Admission System being hacked. According to a Bangkok Post report, the security breach has been confirmed by the Council of University Presidents of Thailand. It’s understood the data, which pertains to over 23,000 students who took part in last year’s exams, has…
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9 children get blood disorder after eating sausages from illegal Chon Buri factory
Nine children have methemoglobinemia, a blood disorder, after they ate sausages from one factory in Chon Buri. Local police and officials from the Food and Drug Administration inspected the factory and talked to the owner after labels on the factory’s products matched what the children had eaten. The owner admitted to producing sausage products for five years without a permit.…
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Officials will install traffic lights and surveillance cameras at 100 Bangkok crossings
In the aftermath of a fatal accident where a motorbike hit and killed a pedestrian, Bangkok officials plan to install traffic lights and surveillance cameras at 100 zebra crossings. The lights will be installed in two weeks, and the cameras in a month. Out of the city’s 3,280 zebra crossings, only 1,277 have flashing lights warning drivers to slow down…
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Thai customs officials have dogs sniff for pork at Laos border to prevent smuggling
Thai customs and livestock officials now have trained dogs sniffing for pork that could be smuggled over the Laos border. This news comes after about 300 kilograms of pork were found at a dump near the moon river yesterday. Officials think a pork trader who hoarded too much pork might have dumped it there. They have deployed the dogs at…
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Most Phuket tourists infected with Covid travelled from Russia and Kazakhstan
Most tourists who tested positive for Covid-19 when they arrived in Phuket travelled from Russia and Kazakhstan, but particularly Russia, the Phuket provincial governor told the Bangkok Post. The governor says there will be an investigation of why a significant number of infections involved travellers from those countries. Governor Narong Woonciew says that out of about 300 daily diagnoses in Phuket,…
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Rayong officials say no contaminated seafood found following crude oil leak
Officials in the eastern province of Rayong continue to test seafood from the surrounding waters amid contamination concerns but so far, all’s good. So says Rayong’s public health chief, Dr Soonthorn Rianphoomkarnkit. Concerns were raised following a devastating oil spill on January 25 that has affected the surrounding waters. The crude oil leak, from an undersea pipeline owned by Star…
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Phuket reports higher infection rate in second Covid tests for Test & Go travellers
With two RT-PCR tests now required for Test & Go travellers, one of Thailand’s most popular tourist destinations, Phuket, is reporting a higher infection rate for the second test. Following the emergence of the Omicron variant in Thailand, with many travellers testing positive for the mutated strain, the Thai government decided to require two RT-PCR tests instead of the initial…
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House speaker insists parliament building is safe, despite several MPs testing positive
The Speaker of the Thai House of Representatives has insisted parliamentary business can continue as normal and that meetings are safe. Chuan Leekpai was responding to news that a number of MPs have tested positive for Covid-19. According to a Bangkok Post report, the speaker is anxious to have sessions continue as normal, pointing out that there are strict Covid-19…
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Over 23,000 travellers register for Test & Go scheme on day 1 of relaunch
A government spokesman says out of 29,194 foreigners who applied for a Thailand Pass on Tuesday, over 23,000 were registering for the Test & Go entry scheme. Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana says 23,660 registered for Test & Go on day 1 of its return. According to a Bangkok Post report, Thanakorn is optimistic that this number will increase. Test & Go was…
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Officers uncover buried car owned by an American who left Thailand 10 years ago
A car was found buried at a palm plantation in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat… but what is interesting about the case is that the vehicle belonged to a 52 year old American man who, according to reports, left the country 10 years ago. The bronze BMW had been buried about a metre deep. Police and forensic officers…
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