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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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Bentley driver cleared of being drunk at the wheel in three-car smash
The blood alcohol test of the Bentley driver, who caused a three-car collision last Sunday, reveals he was not drunk at the time of the pile-up. But, the investigating officer from Expressway Police Station 1 has been criticised for not making the driver take a breathalyser test immediately after the incident. Suthat Siwapiromrat crashed his grey Bentley sedan into a…
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Chinese tourists expected to flock back to Phuket and Chiang Mai
Chinese tourists are expected to flock back to Phuket and Chiang Mai after China eased travel restrictions on its citizens on January 8. Now, the two tourism hotspots expect a significant jump in travel on direct flights from China from January 18, according to local airport authorities. There will be one daily direct flight from China to Chiang Mai, and three…
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Two fugitive Korean underwear bosses arrested in Thailand
Police arrested two wanted Korean fugitives – the former and current chairman of the Ssangbangwool Group – on a golf course in Thailand yesterday after eight months on the run. According to prosecutors in South Korea, the pair were arrested by Thai police on a golf course in Pathum Thani province just north of Bangkok at 7.30pm. South Korean prosecutors suspect…
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Pattaya dwellers not happy with homeless living in abandoned building
Pattaya dwellers aren’t too thrilled about homeless people living in an abandoned building in the city. On Monday, local media reported that a group of homeless people were camping at an abandoned building on South Pattaya Road in the Nongprue sub-district of Bang Lamung district. The building was home to a former convenience store that lost business during the Covid-19…
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German tourist falls near summit of Tiger Cave Temple in southern Thailand
A young German tourist is injured after falling from the top of the stairs at Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi province in southern Thailand yesterday afternoon. At 3pm, Krabi Tourist Police were informed that a German tourist needed medical help after an accident near the summit of the mountain. Rescue workers climbed over 1,000 steps, which took more than one…
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Philippines storms take at least 11 lives in past week
Storms over the past week in the Philippines have reportedly taken at least 11 lives thus far with more heavy rain forecasted. According to Thai PBS World, bad weather has hit the southern and central islands since Christmas weekend. Flooding and landslides have left 52 people dead with hundreds forced to uproot and leave their homes. The Civil Defence Office…
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Cops bust thieving couple who sold items to second hand shops in Phuket
Cops busted a thieving couple in Phuket on Monday, a husband and wife team who stole items and sold them to second hand shops. Police say the husband has been identified as Banjerd, and the wife as Toon Mathurasorn, The Phuket News reported. A Russian man, Oliver Thurman, alerted Wichit Police on January 6 that a towing rig and a…
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Cabinet announces change to holiday calendar
The government yesterday announced a change to the Thai holiday calendar. Government spokesperson Traisuree Taisaranakul revealed the Cabinet has declared Friday, May 5, a special holiday, making it a four-day holiday for Coronation Day. The Cabinet agreed to change the date because this year’s Coronation Day falls on a Thursday, reported Bangkok Post. “The long holiday for Coronation Day will…
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Thai police seize 30 kilograms of heroin bound for Hong Kong hidden in puppy pads
Thai authorities seized a sizeable 30 kilograms of heroin yesterday in Samut Prakan province, just north of Bangkok, believed to be headed to Hong Kong. Police arrested a Hong Konger and a Thai national during the raid. Officers from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) raided a house in the Kanchanaphisek 39 area of Samut Prakan to find…
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Curriculum options available at international schools in Thailand
International schools in Thailand offer a wide range of educational curriculums, each designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in their future studies or career paths. These curriculums include the International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), and American, British, and French curriculums. Each curriculum has its own strengths and focuses, such as the development…
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Phang Nga’s turtle nesting season continues with more nests discovered
Phang Nga’s turtle nesting season continues and more nests are being discovered. Two more nests were found, bringing the total number of nests unearthed to eight so far, The Phuket Express reported today. The nests were found on the Baan Thung Darp Beach in the Koh Phra Thong sub-district of Kura Buri district. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources…
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Thai AirAsia ranked 3rd most on-time low-cost airline in the world
Thai AirAsia is ranked the third most on-time low-cost airline in the world and the most punctual carrier in Asia-Pacific countries in 2022, according to Cirium, a data analytics company in the aviation and travel industry. The average on-time rate reported by Cirium was 97.47% The Chief Executive Officer of Thai AirAsia, Santisuk Klongchaiya, announced the company’s good news yesterday,…
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2 Thai women attacked by foreign mafia in Koh Samui
A Thai woman sought help from the Thai media after she and her mother were attacked by some foreigners who claimed to be part of a mafia gang at a bar in Koh Samui on New Year’s Eve. The woman turned to the media because the police ignored her case. The local Facebook page Samui Fresh News posted a video…
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Over 500 drivers in Thailand have traffic points deducted on first day of new system
Thailand’s new driving penalty point system proved to be a challenge for over 500 drivers on the first day of its implementation. The new system came into effect yesterday, and 540 drivers in the country had points deducted. According to the spokesperson of the Royal Thai Police Major General, Archayon Kraithong, the top three offences that got points deducted were:…
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Police on the prowl for scam gang after Thai teen commits suicide
Police are on the prowl for a scamming gang after a teenage boy committed suicide in Thailand’s central Nonthaburi province. The boy, 15 year old Arthit, hung himself in a wooded area in the Pakkret district on Sunday. Arthit left a note apologising to his mother for stealing up to 15,000 baht from her purse. Investigators later found that criminals…
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Thailand informs airlines about removal of Covid-19 vaccine rule
Unvaccinated travellers heading to Thailand can now feel at ease knowing airlines around the world have been informed that Thailand no longer requires arrivals to prove they are vaccinated against Covid-19. Thailand momentarily reintroduced the two-dose Covid vaccine entry requirement with barely any notice as a measure to mitigate the risk of importing a caseload of coronavirus from China, which…
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Male prostitute threatens to kill woman in Isaan
A lonely, fearful woman in the Isaan province of Udon Thani filed a complaint with the police after a male prostitute stole from her, murdered her dog, and threatened to kill her. The 32 year old woman named Boom told the media that… “I’m embarrassed to talk about this, but I think this is too much, and I have to…
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Immigration police arrest two Chinese fraudsters illegally living in Thailand
In two separate but similar cases, Immigration Police arrested two Chinese fraudsters posing as businessmen and illegally living in Thailand. Collectively, the pair scammed victims of over 2 billion baht. Case 1 Police arrested a 44 year old Chinese national named Changguan (pseudonym) who allegedly scammed hundreds of victims of over 1.4 billion baht by persuading them to invest in…
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Soapy king makes PM Prayut’s inauguration slippy
Former soapy king turned amateur super-sleuth Chuwit Kamolvisit tried to gatecrash Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s inauguration into United Thai Nation (UTN) Party yesterday. PM Prayut officially joined the UTN Party yesterday where he gave an impassioned speech on how he values the democratisation process, seemingly forgetting that he toppled the democratic process when seizing power in a 2014 army coup.…
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Bangkok City Hall assesses Covid readiness
With travel increases to Thailand, and with the reopening of China, comes the risk of spreading Covid-19. Bangkok City Hall is taking steps to ensure that visitors can enjoy their stay while keeping themselves and others safe as they brace for an influx of tourists. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt tasked his deputy governors with conducting a full assessment of the…
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Iran sentences young footballer to 16 years for ‘enmity against God’
Iran’s regime sentenced a young footballer to 16 years of imprisonment for “enmity against God,” several news outlets reported yesterday. The footballer, 26 year old Amir Nasr-Azadani, participated in protests against Iran’s theocratic regime last year, which began after Iranian authorities murdered a young woman for allegedly showing too much of her hair. Nasr-Azadani was found guilty of “partaking in…
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Malaysia investigates Russian daredevils who trespassed onto Merdeka 118
Malaysian authorities are investigating a Russian ‘daredevil’ couple for trespassing after videos of them standing on top of the second tallest building in the world, the unfinished Merdeka 118 tower in Kuala Lumpur, went viral. On Saturday, Malaysia‘s Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said there are no records of the Russian couple entering or exiting Malaysia. On December 28, Malaysian…
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Thai gold necklace thief arrested after fleeing to Myanmar
The Thai thief was arrested by Burmese police officers yesterday after stealing a 150,000 baht gold necklace from a shop in the northern province of Chiang Rai and escaping by swimming to Myanmar. The theft happened at a gold shop named Seri Phan in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai on November 26 last year. The male thief pretended…
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Thai army shoots dead 6 foreign ketamine traffickers
Thai paramilitary rangers shot dead six drug traffickers smuggling 300 kilograms of ketamine into Thailand in the forests of Chiang Mai province near the border of Myanmar at 3am today. In the dead of night in the dense jungle, Thai paramilitary rangers crossed paths with “foreign drug traffickers” in Mon Pin subdistrict in Chiang Mai’s Fang district. The rangers reported that…
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Violent monk flees scene after leaving teenage girl for dead
A violent monk is on the run after attacking his 17 year old granddaughter with a hammer and leaving her for dead at a temple in the Isaan province of Ubon Ratchathani last Saturday. Police believe that a letter found at the scene suggests the monk had a crush on the girl and was jealous of a friendship she’d recently…
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Marine department warns boats after trawler sinks in South Thailand
Large waves are continuing to wreak havoc on boats in Thailand’s waters. The country’s Marine Department warned boat operators to be extra cautious after a fishing trawler sank in South Thailand on Saturday night. The trawler sank in the Gulf of Thailand about 18.2 nautical miles off the coast of Pak Phanang district in Nakhon Si Thammarat province. Fortunately, marine…
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British man claims he was tortured by Thai police
A British man claims he was tortured by Thai police for seven days straight in Phuket, southern Thailand when his holiday abroad went gravely wrong. British authorities have launched an investigation into the alleged abuse, reports FirstPost. He allegedly sustained broken ribs, bruised limbs, septic infections, swollen wrists, and lost four teeth in the ordeal. The victim, 51 year old Carl…
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What makes Amari Phuket a private tropical paradise?
Sponsored Phuket’s crystal clear waters, stunning beaches, and vibrant nightlife make it an unrivalled travel destination in Thailand. What’s more, the island is renowned for its stunning resorts, boasting luxurious amenities and spectacular views of the Andaman Sea. Amari Phuket, one of Phuket’s luxurious 5-star beach resorts, sets itself apart as a private paradise. But what differentiates it? Private yet…
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Tourism Authority of Thailand plans first roadshow in China after pandemic
Now that China has lifted travel restrictions for its citizens, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is once again tapping into the Chinese tourism market. TAT is planning a roadshow in China during the third week of February. This will be the first roadshow after the Covid-19 pandemic, according to TAT’s Regional Director of East Asia Chuwit Sirivejkul. The roadshow…
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Thai island holds first Full Moon party of the year, draws 20,000 tourists
Thailand’s island of Koh Pha Ngan welcomed its first Full Moon party of the year on Friday night, drawing 20,000 tourists, according to Surat Thani’s vice governor. The party experienced a bit of rain, but after the rain cleared, tourists were able to have a blast dancing on the beach. Vice Governor Choosak Rooying told The Phuket Express that so…
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