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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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Big-hearted garbage worker gives away reconditioned bicycles to needy kids on Children’s Day
A big-hearted garbage worker intends to celebrate Children’s Day by giving away reconditioned bicycles to underprivileged kids. The refuse collector, Saksan “Bird” Maksorntong, revealed he has rebuilt a number of broken and abandoned bicycles he found on his rounds and plans to give them to underprivileged kids as a gift on Children’s Day. Every second Saturday of January is Thailand’s…
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Kids in Thailand can go to six zoos for free on Children’s Day
Khao Kheow Open Zoo, photo by Khao Kheow Open Zoo. Lucky kids in Thailand can gain access to six zoos for free on Children’s Day tomorrow. Free entrance is limited to children whose height does not exceed 135 centimetres, according to the Zoological Park Organisation The six zoos are: Khao Kheow Open Zoo, Chiang Mai Zoo, Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo, Songkhla…
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Community craft centre exploiting indigenous Karen weavers
Members of the Bang Kloi Karen community employed as weavers in a community craft centre have accused the centre of exploiting indigenous workers. The Karen workers claim they suffer poor working conditions and are paid less than the minimum wage. Activist Anchalee Ismanyee said weavers are paid much less than the official minimum wage in Phetchaburi province of 335 baht…
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Belgian-Moroccan tourist breaks his back in motorbike crash in northern Thailand
A Belgian-Moroccan tourist broke his back in a motorbike accident en route to a waterfall in the hippie backpacker town of Pai in Mae Hong Son province, northern Thailand, yesterday. Issam Messaoudi and his friend rented a motorbike and headed to Mor Paeng Waterfall when they lost control and came off the steep and slippery road. Messauodi’s friend came out…
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DSI accused of soliciting 50 million baht bribe from gambling king
Help Crime Victim Club President Autchariya Ruengrattanapong accused the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) of soliciting bribes of 50 million baht from a gambling kingpin named Somchai Jutikitdaecha. Somchai, also known as Long Joo, is a well-known personality in the eastern provinces of Thailand, especially in Rayong. He is well-liked in the community and perceived as kind because he helps…
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Phuket prisoners to dredge drains in new project to fight flooding
Phuket prisoners will dredge drains and sewers in a new project to fight the island province’s horrendous flooding problems. Officials held a meeting about the upcoming endeavor at Phuket’s Provincial Hall on Wednesday. Officials said the project aims to prevent a repeat last year’s damage from havoc wreaking floods. Inmates from Phuket Provincial Prison will contribute to society by clearing…
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Twitch bans Thai-French streamer for ‘sexual content’ after showing feet
Livestreaming platform Twitch has banned half-Thai half-French streamer JustKeth for ‘sexual content’ after she held up her bare feet to the camera during a livestream. Keth can’t seem to catch a break, making headlines last week when an angry farang chased her around a pool at a hotel in Pattaya after she rejected his sexual advances. Keth captured the terrifying…
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Nok Air to launch flights between Bangkok and Hyderabad
Budget airline Nok Air will launch direct flights between Bangkok in Thailand and Hyderabad in India on February 19, 2023. A state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 189 Economy Class seats will service the nonstop route from Don Mueang International Airport to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport four times per week. Flight DD959 will take off from Hyderabad at 00.45am on Mondays,…
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Lisa Marie Presley dies of suspected heart attack, aged 54
Lisa Marie Presley, the only daughter of rock and roll legend Elvis, died of a suspected heart attack in the early hours of this morning. She was 54 years old. Paramedics were sent to a Calabasas home at 10.37am (6.37am Thai time) after receiving a report of a woman in cardiac arrest, according to Craig Little, a spokesperson for the…
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Google’s best beaches almost unknown in Thailand
Last year, both Thai and foreign tourists took to the virtual highways and byways – and often the real ones – searching for Thailand’s best beaches. As the pandemic receded, the vigilant eye of Google Maps was goggling at you, benignly recording your every move, or so the corporation claims. Google’s best beaches in Thailand are those with the most…
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Foreign mafia who attacked 2 Thai women in Koh Samui found in Phuket
National Police Deputy Commissioner Surachate Hakparn, aka Big Joke, ordered police in Koh Samui to speed up the search for the foreign mafia gang that attacked two Thai women at a bar on New Year’s Eve. Officers from Bor Phut Police Station in Koh Samui reported that they know the identities of two of the group members and stated that…
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Bangkok taxi fare increase effective today
Bangkok taxi fares will increase to a minimum fare of 40 baht today after staying at 35 baht for 30 years. The increased fare, which applies to Bangkok registered taxis with no more than seven seats, is effective today according to its announcement in the Royal Gazette yesterday. However, passengers may not notice a rise in fares straight away as…
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Russian man attacked in Pattaya bar after refusing to pay 60 baht bill
A Russian man was assaulted by a female bar owner in Pattaya after he refused to pay a 60-baht bill. The owner claimed she acted in self-defence as the man was drunk, refused to pay the bill, and slapped her in the face first. A rescue team was notified that a Russian man, later identified as Michael, was injured in…
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Jeep plunges down mountainside in Thailand, driver dies, 5 Israeli tourists survive
A jeep tumbled 30 metres down a mountainside and into a river yesterday in Chiang Rai province in northern Thailand. The Thai driver died in the accident and five Israeli tourists survived with injuries. At 2pm yesterday, officers at Mueang Chiang Rai Police Station were informed that a fatal car crash occurred near the entrance of an Akha Pang Klang…
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Corruption investigation leaves some Thai immigration officials in hot water over helping Chinese businessmen
A corruption investigation has left some Thai immigration officials in hot water over their alleged involvement in helping Chinese businessmen. Senior Immigration Bureau investigators say they found clear evidence that some officers are helping foreign criminals by serving as owners of foundations that provided visas to Chinese nationals. According to Bangkok Post, one of the ‘foundations’ had its headquarters in…
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Another black life taken in US police custody
Three things are certain in life in the United States: day follows night, innocent people become fatal victims of random gunman attacks, and black people die in police custody. Already this year, three black men have lost their lives while in the hands of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The latest black life to be lost while in LAPD…
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Thai police bust nine YouTube scammers that allegedly contributed to middle schooler’s suicide
Thai police busted nine YouTube scammers that allegedly contributed to a Nonthaburi middle schooler’s suicide. Police say they arrested two suspects yesterday, 38 year old Ratchanon Saijind, and 34 year old Chaiyawat Virasorn, after they were suspected of purchasing cryptocurrency using a now deceased middle schooler’s money. After police interrogated the two suspects, they said they learned the identities of…
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3 million baht raised for British woman who fell from balcony in Thailand
A GoFundMe appeal raised nearly 3 million baht (£73,500) to cover the medical costs of a 21 year old British woman who sustained serious injuries after falling from a low balcony in Koh Pha Ngan in southern Thailand on New Year’s Eve. Maddi Neale-Shankster, a beauty therapist from Coventry in England, suffered a broken back, two collapsed lungs, and her…
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2-metre tapeworm found in Thai man who eats raw meat
A Thai man posted a video on his social media TikTok account to warn people to avoid eating raw meat after a two-metre tapeworm was found in his body. Amarit Chuetamuen posted videos on his TikTok account, @tex2499, to share his deworming experience. In the first video, Amarit told his followers that his anus had become itchy and then felt…
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Officials panic Thailand hits lowest birth rate in 7 decades
Officials are panicking after Thailand hit its lowest birth rate in seven decades last year. The Social Development and Human Security Ministry announced today that the kingdom hit a 71-year low. Last year, Thailand’s target birth rate was 700,000, however, only 502,000 babies were born. The birth rate was therefore about 30% below the target. The ministry’s permanent secretary Anukul…
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Thailand is the happiest of 7 regional APAC countries, survey says
The people of Thailand are the happiest out of seven regional Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries, according to a survey of 85,000 adult respondents via the polling app Votee. Stats were collected from respondents in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines between October 2021 and December 2022. Respondents were routinely asked to score their happiness level out of…
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Thai beauty queen wears dress inspired by her background in Miss Universe 2022
Miss Universe Thailand 2022 dazzled fans today at a preliminary round of Miss Universe 2022 in the United States with a dress inspired by her life as the daughter of garbage collectors Anna Sueangam-iam was crowned Miss Universe Thailand in August last year but to many Thais, the 24 year old is fondly known as the “beauty garbage queen” because of…
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Russian woman almost drowns on Patong beach
It was a close call for one Russian woman who almost drowned on Patong Beach yesterday. The incident happened at the part of the beach near the Bangla Police Box. Tourists pulled the unconscious woman out of the water, and lifeguards, once aware of the situation, rushed to help. The lifeguards, and a tourist who was a doctor, worked to…
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Central Fraud Registry, coming soon to clean up Thai banking
Thailand‘s forthcoming Central Fraud Registry will be a new investigative authority, working alongside the Computer Emergency Response Team, a group of financial institutions focused on cybercrime in the banking industry. The new fraud registry will concentrate on financial fraud in the industry. Thai Banking Association (TBA) chairman Payong Srivanich did not set a time frame for setting up the registry.…
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Twitter staff in Singapore fired, more job losses in Asia predicted
Staff at Twitter‘s Singapore office were fired yesterday. Employees were told via email that they had to evacuate the CapitaGreen building premises by 5pm. An anonymous staff member informed the press that Singapore-based employees at Twitter have been temporarily reassigned to work remotely within the company’s internal system. According to a tweet by Casey Newton, the operator of the technology-focused…
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Green comet to be visible after 50,000 years
A green comet is expected to be visible in the night sky for the first time in 50,000 years. Astronomers discovered the comet, named C/2022 E3 (ZTF), in March 2022 at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California. Today (January 12), the comet will reach perihelion, its closest point to the sun, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. According…
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Assets over 10 million baht stolen from businessman at fitness centre
A businessman filed a complaint with police after assets of over 10 million baht were stolen from a fitness centre safety box at a shopping mall on Ngam Wongwarn Road in Nonthaburi. This isn’t the first time the fitness centre has been targeted by thieves. Their task is made a lot easier by the fact there are no security cameras…
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Thailand Tourism Ministry strives for 80 million international tourists in 2027
Thailand‘s Ministry of Tourism and Sports set a sky-high target of 80 million international tourists in the kingdom by 2027. The target exceeds Thailand’s current total population of 69 million. To frame the ambitious figure, pre-pandemic Thailand welcomed an average of 40 million international tourists per year. In 2022, Thailand welcomed 11.5 million international arrivals, exceeding the Tourism Authority of…
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Thai police collar slippery Singaporean scammer
Thai police finally caught up with a slippery Singaporean hacker in Bangkok yesterday and placed him, and his girlfriend, under arrest. Ong Jian Zhen allegedly scammed hundreds of social media accounts in Singapore and fled to the safe haven of Thailand last year to escape the wrath of his own country’s courts. Zhen was already on the Thai wanted list…
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Myanmar strongman’s kids’ assets found in Bangkok drugs raid
Assets belonging to the children of Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing have been found in a Bangkok condominium. Documents were discovered during a September raid on the apartment of a Myanmar arms dealer charged with drug trafficking and money laundering. According to Bangkok Post, the assets found in Bangkok at the home of Tun Min Latt when he was…
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