News
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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Police raid illegal motorbike parts factory in Chon Buri
In an ongoing crackdown on illegally modified motorcycles and racing, police in the eastern province of Chon Buri raided a warehouse in the central city district this week, which they say is a root cause of the problem. Earlier this week, a team of provincial and Region 2 police raided a warehouse in the Bang Sai sub-district. This warehouse reportedly…
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COVID-19 update: 10 new imported cases including 6 returning soldiers (July 24)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration today announced 10 new cases of the coronavirus discovered in the previous 24 hours, all returnees in state quarantine facilities. Spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin said this morning the new cases include one returnee each from Sudan, Pakistan, Germany and the Netherlands, and 6 soldiers returning from joint military exercises in the US state of Hawaii.…
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Alleged rapist teacher faces additional intimidation charge
A 33 year old teacher accused of the statutory rape of a schoolgirl in the northeastern province of Buriram will face an additional charge of allegedly threatening to kill her family if she told anyone. Police initially pressed 3 counts against 33 year old Kittiphop Karnram, a physical education teacher at a school in Nang Rong district: depriving a girl…
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Protesters mustn’t insult monarchy: army chief
Thailand’s army chief warned student protesters today against insulting the monarchy in their anti-government campaigning. At a news conference, with tears in his eyes, Apirat Kongsompong urged students to respect the Royal Family and refrain from using offensive language about them. His remarks followed some veiled references to the monarchy at the protests, which as of today have continued for…
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Overly harsh travel restrictions are destroying aviation: AAPA
More than 6 months into the Covid-19 pandemic, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines is urging governments around the region to ease what they view as unduly burdensome restrictions on international air travel and re-establish global connectivity with evidence-based measures to safeguard public health. The industry is taking initial steps toward restarting international operations by working closely with governments, health…
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Mother, daughter run over by pickup truck in Pathum Thani
A mother and daughter were run over today by a pickup truck carrying furniture reversing down a busy road in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok. The shocking incident was caught on surveillance footage. The pair had stepped into the road and didn’t notice the truck creeping up on them from behind. Fortunately, both mother and child survived. Poh Teck…
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Former PM Yingluck responds to allegations
Former PM Yingluck Shinawatra, now a fugitive living in exile since she was removed from office in May 2014 by a Constitutional Court decision, took to Facebook yesterday to respond to allegations of abuse of power brought by the National Anti-Corruption Commission earlier this week, calling on the anti-graft body to focus on the current government instead. On Wednesday the…
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Man dies after crashing bike into lighting pole in Pattaya
A man has been killed after he drove his motorbike into a lighting pole in the Pattaya sub-district of Nong Tamlueng. The Pattaya News names the man as 39 year old Tawee Sukkheng from the north-eastern province of Udon Thani. One witness, 27 year old Tanawin Yimyuan, says he was driving behind Tawee when he saw the bike hit the…
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Face masks become mandatory in Malaysia’s fight against Covid-19
Even when it was in the grip of Covid-19 in March, reporting daily new cases in triple digits, Malaysia never made the wearing of face masks mandatory. Defense Minister Ismail Sabri says this was to avoid placing financial stress on the country’s poor, given that face masks should be changed at least once a day. However, as the country reports…
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Demonstrators turn Isaan protests into celebrations – VIDEO
Students held protests yesterday on campuses across Isaan, Thailand’s northeastern region, demanding that the government dissolve parliament, rewrite the constitution to be more democratic, and stop official and unofficial harassment and prosecution of its opponents. The demands echoed their Bangkok counterparts in last Saturday’s massive demonstration, demanding accountability and the end of military involvement in politics. Thousands of student protesters…
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Man arrested for stealing Phuket ambulance
A man has been arrested in Phang Nga after allegedly stealing an ambulance in Phuket. Reports in Thai Residents and The Phuket News say the vehicle was stolen from outside the Kathu office of The Kusoldharm Foundation at around 4am yesterday and discovered missing by a member of the foundation shortly after. After notifying police, foundation workers initially tried driving…
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Hit-and-run charges against Red Bull heir “Boss” Yoovidhya dropped
In a shock ending to a case which has dragged on for years, charges against Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, in a 2012 hit and run incident – one that resulted in a police officer’s death – have been dropped. Vorayuth is heir to the Red Bull fortune and a member of one of Thailand’s wealthiest families. The Office of the Attorney…
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University students defy ban, hold protest
With anti-government demonstrations flaring up around the country, a bid by the dean of the Mahasarakham University to prevent one there failed yesterday as students defied his ban and went ahead with their protest. University campuses are exempt from the Emergency Decree’s ban on gatherings, and the university initially said only that any rallies held on campus grounds must abide…
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Transport Ministry says they still want to negotiate the 24 billion baht Hopewell pay-out
Driving out to Don Mueang Airport it’s difficult not to notice the new BTS line that now extends from Mo Chit and past the airport. It looks finished and, apparently, will open before the end of the year. But running alongside are the remnants of an earlier, and very expensive, attempt to build a link out to Don Mueang, at…
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Hospital steps up security after gang fights
Following incidents at 2 hospitals in greater Bangkok, in which 3 staff were injured, prompting a female doctor to resign, Udon Thani Hospital has set up a new security system to prevent damage from brawls between the northeastern province’s rival gangs. The hospital’s director says tight security is necessary, citing 4 patients recently brought in with severe injuries from a…
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Chon Buri sees large anti-government rally
The eastern province of Chon Buri was the scene of a peaceful anti-government protest yesterday evening. The rally attracted a large crowd who afterward cleaned Bang Saen beach. The demonstration comes on the heels of several larger protests in Bangkok and elsewhere this week, and was led by a group calling themselves the Youth Liberation Front. No official number of…
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Red shirt leader warns activists against insulting Monarchy
The chairman of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, aka the “red shirt” movement, says the Student Union of Thailand and the Free Youth group, who launched anti-government protests last week, should stick to their 3 demands and not “cross a line” by including discussion about Thailand’s Monarchy. He warns that, otherwise, they will meet the same fate as…
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Phase 6 of re-opening to see thousands of foreigners granted entry to Thailand
A number of additional categories of foreigners will be able to apply to re-enter the Kingdom. These include migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, Elite Visa holders, medical tourists, film crew, convention exhibitors and select business visitors. Anyone that doesn’t fall into one of those groups will remain excluded from the country as the borders remain shut to almost…
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10 returning soldiers found with high fever
151 Thai soldiers, who went to Hawaii to participate in the Lightning Forge 2020 joint training program with the US, returned home yesterday on a Thai Airways flight that landed at Suvarnabhumi airport at 5:40 pm. 10 soldiers were found to have high fevers and were rushed to a hospital in Bangkok to be tested for Covid-19. Another soldier was…
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Female doctor resigns after hospital attack; director suggests “gold shop security”
The director of Vibharam-Chai Prakan Hospital in Samut Prakan, just south of Bangkok, says he may need to upgrade security to that used by gold shops to protect hospital staff. His remarks come just days after violence erupted at 2 hospitals in the area. 2 gangs were fighting after 1 of their members died. A female doctor resigned after the…
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Covid-19 documentary to feature Thailand and New Zealand as success stories
Thailand and New Zealand have been chosen by the World Health Organization as successful models to be featured in a documentary about handling and stemming the spread of Covid-19 . A WHO official in Thailand confirmed to the Bangkok Post that the documentary is in production. No further details of the project have been revealed. The National Institute of Health’s…
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Bangkok “sadist” arrested for man’s death, woman’s abduction
Bangkok police have arrested a man for the abduction of a woman and the death of her boyfriend in the city’s Lumpini Park Tuesday night. Authorities say he is a sexual sadist who preyed on sex workers in the downtown area. Police say a woman, identified as 35 year old Natchada Kiengkaiwaykin, was lured into his Volkswagen van. Her boyfriend,…
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Global aviation recovery could take 3 years – Survey
“Widespread recovery of the global airline industry could be up to three years away.” That’s the consensus out of n industry poll conducted as part of FlightPlan: Charting a Course into the Future. 500 professionals around the world were asked questions about the likely recovery of the global aviation industry. Apart from the dire predictions of a slow recovery over the next…
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American busted for fraud in Bangkok
An American man in Bangkok has been arrested and faces charges of defrauding a Thai investor out of 300,000 baht. Immigration police arrested the 37 year old for allegedly conning the victim into investing in an application to search for condominiums, jobs, cleaning and other services. The man, identified only as “Matthew”, was arrested under a warrant obtained by immigration…
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Chiang Mai madam arrested over underage gay sex shop
A team of police and provincial officers have arrested a transgender woman on charges of operating a brothel after raiding a Chiang Mai massage shop. 2 young masseurs were caught in the sting operation on Tuesday night. The arrested woman identified herself as the manager of the shop although police believe she’s the owner of the business. Authorities say the…
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Last Qantas 747 flight draws kangaroo logo in the sky to mark final voyage – VIDEO
The Qantas Boeing 747 has taken to the skies for the last time, marking its final journey by drawing the airline’s famous kangaroo logo in the sky. The design could be seen on flight radar maps as the aircraft, affectionately known as the Queen of the Skies, ascended out of Sydney for the last time. It flew over the Harbour…
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Sudden downpour floods Pattaya’s main roads
More rain in Pattaya today brining flooding to some of the ‘usual’ spots and affecting traffic. The mid-afternoon downpour flooded Pattaya’s major arteries, causing water up to 50 centimetres deep on some of the roads, including (of course) Beach Road. The rain battered the seaside city for around 2 hours. The Bangkok-Pattaya motorway was also hit by the sudden downpour…
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“Priceless” ancient manuscripts vanish from university, feared stolen and sold
“Hundreds” of priceless historical manuscripts have been stolen from the Arts and Cultural Centre of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Rabhabhat University. A senior monk said the ancient folding-book paper manuscripts, known as “samut khoi”, contained stories and drawings featuring local history, traditions and culture, and might have been stolen and sold to people unaware that they belonged to the university.…
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Chiang Mai eatery fined for alcohol promotion
A Chiang Mai restaurant is warning other eateries to be very careful about promoting alcohol after being raided and fined. Police went to Ai ToMoE restaurant in Chiang Mai after a tip that it was promoting beer in its 499 baht buffet menu, according to the restaurant’s Facebook post yesterday. Offices arrested the chef, named “Boy”, and fined him 50,000…
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Isaan students say they’ll defy protest ban
Students at Isaan’s Mahasarakham University say they’re going ahead with a planned anti-government rally despite a ban from the institution. Organisers of the protest made the announcement earlier today. The university initially said yesterday that any rallies held on campus grounds must abide by the laws and refrain from anti-monarchy rhetoric. The university later revised its policy and banned all…
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