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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 Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
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July re-opening for Phuket expected to get government approval today
Today, the government is expected to approve a quarantine-free re-opening for the southern island of Phuket from July. However, the re-opening does require the island to have achieved herd immunity status by vaccinating 70% of its population before then. Deputy PM Supattanapong Punmeechaow says the Centre for Economic Situation Administration will consider the plan at its meeting later today, which…
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Thai lingerie manufacturer ordered to pay workers
A Thai lingerie manufacturer must pay workers that were laid off without compensation, according to the Labour Protection and Welfare Office. More than 1200 employees of Brilliant Alliance Thai Global received no warning when the factory suddenly closed in Samut Prakan province on March 10th. The company blamed Covid-19 for financial failings leading to the closure, but workers were given…
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Accelerated vaccination plan for Phuket, Koh Samui recommended by tourism sector
Those in Thailand’s tourism and airline industries are pushing for an accelerated vaccination plan for Phuket and Koh Samui as well as for those in those in the tourism sector. With Phuket set to reopen under the “sandbox” model in July, tourism and airline representatives also ask for a clear timeline for reopening the country to foreign travellers. In a…
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Thailand News Today | Huge anti-government protest in Bangkok, monks behaving badly | March 25
Protesters gathered at the Ratchaprasong intersection in Bangkok yesterday, calling for the release of fellow activists and the resignation of the Thai PM. The anti-government protesters assembled last night and listened to speakers blasting the PM and Thailand’s strict lèse majesté law. The protesters are calling for the law to be abolished, for those charged under the law to be…
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Earth Hour on Saturday, Bangkok to join global “lights off” hour
The city of Bangkok will go dark for an hour on Saturday, joining thousands of cities across the globe for Earth Hour, an annual initiative where lights are turned off to raise awareness about protecting the planet. The deputy governor of Bangkok, Sopon Pisuttiwong, says lights be off from 8:30pm to 9:30pm on Saturday, joining 7,000 other cities in darkness.…
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Thai rocker to finish prison sentence after losing appeal
A Thai rock musician is to remain in prison after losing his Supreme Court appeal in which he claimed he was suffering from bipolar disorder. Seksan “Sek Loso” Sookpimay was sentenced to a 42 month prison term, along with community service, for drug abuse, resisting arrest, and threatening police with a firearm following an incident at his home on New…
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97 new cases of Covid in Thailand, 5 imported – Covid-19 Update
Today, Thailand is reporting 97 new cases of Covid-19 with 5 cases being imported, raising the total to 28,443 since the pandemic began. This is up from the 69 cases reported yesterday. The government has reported no new deaths, leaving the total at 92 Covid deaths in Thailand. Bangkok logged the most amount of new cases, at 70% of today’s…
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Foreigners seeking 60 day tourist visa extensions crowd Phuket Immigration
Many foreigners seeking to extend what some are calling the “Covid visa” crowded Phuket Immigration this morning. The queue stretched from the second floor, out the door and down the stairs at the front of the building. One man told the Phuket News that many were waiting to file a 60 day tourist visa extension. The visa extensions are intended…
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AstraZeneca vaccine drops 3 percentage points in effectiveness rate
The makers of the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine have dropped its effectiveness rate by 3 percent. The revised rate comes after an independent panel of experts appointed to supervise the trial expressed concern that AstraZeneca had failed to include updated data in its initially released figure. The US National Institutes of Health then issued a rare statement asking AstraZeneca to work…
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Tour bus operators in Phuket call for government help after a year of no work
Tour bus operators on the southern island of Phuket are calling for government assistance as they face ongoing legal action over missed lease payments on their equipment. Some operators say the threat of bankruptcy looms over them after a year of unemployment. The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc with tourism on Phuket, but tour bus operators say they have never…
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Illegal gambling den owner in Pattaya arrested again in murder for hire scheme
An illegal casino operator in Pattaya is under arrest again after police are accusing him of murdering the man who snitched on him back in February. 56 year old Somchai Jutikitdecha, or Longjoo Somchai, was detained at his residence on Rat Bamrung Road in Tambon Noen Phra of Pattaya’s Muang district early this morning and is being charged with ordering…
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Protesters call for PM’s resignation, release of activists, abolition of lèse majesté law
Protesters gathered at the Ratchaprasong intersection in Bangkok last night, calling for the release of fellow activists and the resignation of the Thai PM. The anti-government activists assembled yesterday from around 5pm and listened to speakers blasting the PM and Thailand’s strict lèse majesté law. The protesters are calling for the law to be abolished, for those charged under the…
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18 metre tapeworm comes out of Thai man, doctors suspect he ate raw beef containing parasite eggs
A 67 year old Thai man complaining of stomach pain and extreme flatulence found out his symptoms were from a 18 metre long tapeworm, possibly the longest tapeworm in Thailand in 50 years. The patient gave a stool sample during a visit to a doctor in the Isaan province Nong Khai, which borders Laos. Lab tests found 28 eggs in…
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Monk kicks Thai teenager in face after he refuses to buy him food
A monk in northern Thailand’s Lampang Province has allegedly taken matters into his own hands by kicking a Thai teenager in the face after he refused to travel 5 kilometres to buy food for the monk. According to the 16 year old boy’s mother, her son was visiting a young monk at the local temple and was playing games with…
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800,000 doses of Chinese vaccine to go to 22 provinces next month
The Thai government will send 800,000 doses of China’s Covid-19 vaccine to 22 selected provinces from next month. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Sinovac vaccine will be distributed to provinces that fall into 3 groups. The first group consists of 6 provinces that have experienced a resurgence of the virus or where clusters of infections have been reported.…
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North expansion project at Suvarnabhumi will go ahead – Transport Minister
The Transport Minister says expansion plans at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport will go ahead and will include the contentious North expansion project. Saksayam Chidchob’s announcement appears to disregard a recommendation from the National Anti-Corruption Commission, who have previously stated that any expansion should be in line with a proposal from the National Economic and Social Development Council. That proposal suggested the…
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Thailand News Today | Dry Songkran, Prayut’s ‘spare’ political party, protest on NOW | March 24
It’s going to be another dry Songkran in Bangkok. Last year the annual Thai New Year celebrations were cancelled altogether. This year it will be Songkran without much of the celebration. No water gun flights. No buckets of water poured over… well just about everybody. City officials say strict measures will be in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19…
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Thailand drafting new regulations for cannabis and hemp seeds
A new regulations for cannabis and hemp seeds imports is in the works by Thailand’s Agriculture Department. With certain parts of the cannabis plant now off the narcotics list, many are tapping into the market for CBD, or cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive component in hemp and cannabis. With the rising demand for hemp and cannabis, the department is revising regulations to…
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Phuket approves quarantine-free stays for foreign travellers from July 1
Foreign travellers to Phuket can enjoy their stays free from quarantine restrictions starting July 1. Today, the infectious disease committee approved the plan to allow foreign tourists to skip quarantines on the premises that local Phuket residents will be inoculated before then, as part of plans to achieve a herd immunity. The plan was supposed to be originally submitted this…
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Suez Canal blocked by large container ship blown off course
Cargo ships on one of the busiest trade routes in the world, the Suez Canal, came to a stop after a large container vessel got stuck sideways and blocked marine traffic. More than 100 ships were reportedly blocked from transit along the canal, which stretches across Egypt from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean connecting Asia to Europe. Apparently, a…
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Thai man confesses to cutting wife’s throat and dumping her body in a pond
A northeastern Thai man has allegedly confessed to killing his wife by cutting her throat and then dumping her body into a public pond. The man allegedly told a relative what he did, who says she initially didn’t believe him. So she and her other relatives went to check it out, finding the woman’s body partially covered by a sack…
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Ratsadon protester to stay in jail after court denies bail
A member of the pro-democracy Ratsadon group is staying in jail as his requests to be released on bail are being denied by Thailand’s Criminal Court. 30 year old Chukiat “Justin” Saengwong, was charged with lese majeste, inciting unrest, and breaking the Emergency Decree while taking part in protests. Police are accusing Chukiat of placing a paper with offensive words…
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CCSA Update: 69 new Covid-19 cases, most in Bangkok
69 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 1,381 active Covid-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic, the CCSA has reported a total of 28,346 coronavirus infections and 92 deaths. Most of the cases were found in Bangkok, according to the deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Foriegn…
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Bangkok sets rules for a dry Songkran, large events must submit a plan
It’s going to be another dry Songkran in Bangkok. No water gun flights. No buckets of water poured on passersby. City officials say strict measures will be in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19 during the holiday, which was extended and now stretches from April 10 to 15. While water splashing is banned, Songkran’s traditional activities, like religious ceremonies and…
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Tom yum goong to be nominated for UNESCO cultural heritage list
Thailand’s famous hot and spicy shrimp soup, or tom yum goong, as it’s better known locally, is being nominated for inclusion on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list. Thai PBS World reports that the government has approved a proposal from the Culture Ministry that the renowned dish be put forward for inclusion. UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with…
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Professor blasts university officials for removal of “trash” art installations
An art professor at Chiang Mai University has slammed university executives for the removal of student art they say they thought was, “trash”. Video of the professor’s rant went viral on social media, after university officials began to remove some pieces from a student art installation. The removal of the pieces, which seemed to depict the aftermath of political protests,…
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Burmese anti-coup demonstrators plan silent protest after 7 year old girl killed
Myanmar’s anti-coup protesters are planning a silent strike today, after violence took the life of a 7 year old girl. The girl was killed in her home when security forces allegedly opened fire during a crackdown in Mandalay, further corroborating the claims by the UN that women and children were among those being killed. The soldiers allegedly were aiming at…
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Another pro-democracy protest confirmed for Bangkok today
The pro-democracy Ratsadon group has announced another anti-government protest to be held in Bangkok today. News of the rally was posted on the Facebook page of the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration group, with organisers pledging to ensure the safety of participants. “March 24, 2021 bring your bags and tie your shoelaces. There will be a rally stage this…
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Rohingya refugee camp fire leaves at least 11 dead in Bangladesh
A fire at a Bangladesh Rohingya refugee camp has left at least 11 dead. The camp, in Cox’s Bazar was destroyed by the fire leaving at least 10,000 Rohingya families without homes. The Inter Sector Coordination Group reports that those families total around 45,000 people, but say that number could climb as rescue organisations assess the situation. Hospitals, schools, women’s…
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Krabi officials hunting motocross drivers who rode bikes in historic cave – VIDEO
Officials in the southern province of Krabi are on the hunt for a group of motocross riders who rode their bikes through an historic cave considered a significant ancient site. It’s believed the bikers were participating in some sort of race, and officials are now attempting to track down the race organisers as well as the bikers. According to a…
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