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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Sponsored Bangtao, Phuket: The neighbourhood expats and investors are eyeing in 2025
Bangtao didn't become Phuket’s most talked-about neighbourhood overnight. For a long time, it was a quiet place on the island’s west coast where locals walked their dogs at sunrise and tourists flocked to sunbathe along its eight-kilometre stretch of beach....
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Vietnam and Thailand head toward $20 billion in two-way trade
FILE PHOTO Việtnam and Thailand are poised to reap the benefits of a US$20 billion two-way trade deal by 2020. A meeting of the Joint Committee on Bilateral Cooperation wrapped up in Thailand yesterday. The two-day meeting was co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh together with the Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai. The two sides agreed…
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Air quality for Thailand – January 29
Central Thailand Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects Northern Thailand Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected. Southern Thailand Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number…
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Weather for January 29
Bangkok A mix of clouds and sun. High 33C. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 km/h. Phuket Partly cloudy this morning with thunderstorms becoming likely this afternoon. High 31C. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 km/h. Chance of rain 80%. Chiang Mai Sunny to partly cloudy. High 32C. Winds light and variable. Pattaya Sunny. High 32C. Winds WNW at 10…
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Thai PM enacts his Article 44 powers to suspend cannabis patents
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has stepped in amid growing controversy over patents for medical marijuana. Critics of the process complain that the high number of patent applications from abroad shows that foreign pharmaceutical corporations were already trying to monopolise Thailand’s fledgling medical-marijuana business. The NCPO leader has used his Article 44 powers to authorise suspension of the current patent applications…
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Slapped airport security worker praised for showing restraint
A female airport security officer, who was slapped by a South Korean woman after she asked if the tourist would submit to a routine pat-down at a security post at Suvarnabhumi Airport, has been praised by an airport executive for not retaliating or responding negatively. The incident took place on Saturday night at Suvarnabhumi Airport while the Thai worker was…
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Eight saved after speedboat capsizes off Koh Lanta coast
Six tourists and two boat crew have been saved after a speedboat capsized two kilometers offshore from Koh Lanta in Krabi. Officials at the Krabi Tourist Assistance Centre were notified of the incident at 11am on Saturday. Navy and national park officers headed to the scene to find a speedboat which had capsized. Eight people were floating in the water…
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Chiang Mai sting lands family of smugglers in custody
PHOTOS: The Nation A family that smuggles together, stays together. In jail. A family of six is under arrest in Chiang Mai after allegedly handing over 15 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and 170,000 methamphetamine pills to undercover police in the province. Police arrested all the members of the ethnic Lahu family. All were aged between 32 and 51 years. Police say…
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Sharks on order – Phuket seafood restaurants
PHOTO: Sunshine Sketcher “Sea food restaurants along Kata and Karon Beach are famous among tourists as prices of dishes are quite reasonable.” The IUCN is calling for every country to educate tourists to protect sharks before they become extinct. More sharks have now been discovered hanging in front of seafood restaurants along the Karon restaurant strip. Read more about recent sightings…
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Seven year old recovering after attack from wild dogs in Phang Nga
“The dogs have been captured and are no longer a danger to beachgoers.” Daily News is reporting that a seven year old boy is fighting for his life in Vachira Hospital Phuket after being mauled by a pack of dogs at a beach near the Sarasin Bridge, on the Phang Nga side. “D-Max” was just out playing with his friends…
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Troops intercept pickup with 2.85 million meth pills – one smuggler killed
A shootout with Army troops has resulted in the death of a drug suspect while attempting to smuggle 2.8 million methamphetamine pills into Thailand from neighbouring Myanmar. Troops from the Pha Muang Taskforce were patrolling a border road in Chiang Rai’s Chiang Saen district, in the far north of Thailand, when they spotted the pickup truck at about 10.40pm. Ttroops…
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Air quality for Thailand – January 28
Central Thailand Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects Northern Thailand Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected. Southern Thailand Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number…
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Boy seriously injured after mauling by dogs near Sarasin Bridge
A seven year old boy has been seriously injured after being attacked and mauled by a group of dogs near Sarasin Bridge. Sarasin Bridge connects Phuket with the Thai mainland. The seven year old boy is Yueanyong ‘D-Max’ Chairab. He was attacked by four dogs at a beach near Sarasin Bridge in Thanoon, Takua Tung on the Phang Nga side…
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Chinese tourists injured in Chalong ATV accident
Two Chinese tourists have sustained injuries after driving an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle – Dune Buggy) off the side of a hillside in Karon. Rescue workers heard about the accident on the Nark Kerd Hills in Karon at 4.20pm yesterday (Sunday). When they arrived they found the two injured female Chinese tourists. The pair were identified as 28 year old…
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BNK48 singer apologizes for wearing shirt emblazoned with a Nazi swastika
Two foreign envoys representing the Israeli Embassy in Thailand have openly expressed dismay after a member of the pop all-girl singing group BNK48 was wearing a T-shirt bearing a Nazi swastika. The sister band of Japan’s AKB48 issued an apology yesterday to match the tearful one delivered earlier by 20 year old singer Pichayapa “Namsai” Natha. “It was a bad…
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Facebook poll reveals expats in Thailand are not optimistic about the future
A simple online poll conducted by Thaivisa on their Facebook page shows that 75% of respondents think expatriate life in Thailand will be ‘worse’ in five years than it is now. According to the poll, only 24% held out hope that life for expats would actually improve by 2024. Facebook users were asked the simple question in the online poll:…
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Pattaya faces a condo oversupply
Last year, Pattaya saw 10,239 condominium units launched with a combined worth of 55 billion bHT (USD1.7 billion), a huge jump from JUST 2,192 units in 2017. Phattarachai Taweewong, the Senior Manager of Collier’s research department, told Bangkok Post that a large portion of the homes remain unsold due to the massive supply last year, The research department’s research showed that…
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Sea Turtle found dead on Chumpon beach, choked on plastics
by Prasit Leehukunakorn A large green turtle has been found dead on Chumphon’s Bang Nam Jeud Beach, believed to have died from plastic waste it ingested. “I found a piece of plastic in its throat, so I think it’s the latest victim of sea-borne plastic waste,” said Amnuaykiat Timnakha, deputy chief of the Tambon Bang Nam Jeud Organisation. He was…
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Fire destroys buildings in Phuket Town
A fire has destroyed a building in Phuket Town, damaging nearby buildings before it was brought under control. Fire fighters at the Phuket City Municipality were notified of the incident at a building near Phuket Bus Terminal 1 in Phuket Town on Phang Nga Road at 8.53am. About 10 fire engines arrived to find the three storey building was in…
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NCPO restrict social media and advertising in election campaign
“Following the confirmation that Thailand’s much-postponed election would finally be held on 24 March – the first election since the military seized power in a bloodless coup in 2014 – the election commission released strict guidelines on political campaigning.” The world’s media is starting to report on the shackles put on political parties campaigning for the Thai general election, scheduled…
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Two family members killed and another injured in a Phetchaburi market shooting
FILE PHOTO A young man and his mother were shot and killed while his father was injured following a dispute with another market vendor at a roadside market in Phetchaburi’s Khao Yoi district. Police say the shooting took place at about 5.30am yesterday morning (Saturday) at the Nong Prong market in Moo 5 village in Tambon Nong Prong. Police say…
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Grieving Chiang Mai father kills himself in same spot son committed suicide
A grieving father has been found dead in front of his house in Chiang Mai’s Mae Wang district this morning in an apparent suicide. It was the same spot where his son killed himself last year, according to police. Pol Lt Col Natthapol Jaikantha, deputy commander of the Mae Wang police station, said 57 year old Chankaew Sopha killed himself…
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OPINION – One, two, three bad incidents on Patong Hill within 24 hours
The bottom of Patong Hill, on the Patong side, has been the scene of numerous fatalities over the past 20 years. Following a steep decent and some tight windy turns, some vehicles simply come to grief. Residents and shops at the bottom of the hill have built barriers, walls and fencing to try and defend themselves from the parade of…
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Suspect dies in Phuket road incident after killing his wife – VIDEO
The car driver, who died in the crash on Phuket’s Bypass road yesterday, appears to have crashed his car intentionally after killing his wife. The car driver was killed after colliding with a pickup truck at a U-Turn in the road. The dash cam video from the man’s car appears to clearly indicate the driver’s intentions. Read more about the…
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Greenpeace outs Thailand’s worst smog areas
At least 10 suburbs in nine Thai provinces are being called out by pollution watchdog Greenpeace. The organisation has revealed its rankings for 2018 based on a satellite map of PM2.5 concentrations in Thailand and the neighbouring countries of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. Greenpeace is calling for the Thai government to improve the Ambient (Outdoor) Air Quality Standards for PM2.5…
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43 foreign Phuket tourists saved after speedboat capsizes on way to Koh Phi Phi – VIDEO
VIDEO: อันดาวารี 43 foreign tourists from Phuket have been saved after water started pouring into a speedboat they were travelling in and capsized on the way to Koh Phi Phi. At 11.40 am yesterday a speedboat named ‘Apitsada 1’ with 43 foreign tourists and two Thai guides, left from Chalong Pier to Koh Mai Thon and Koh Phi Phi. When they…
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New e-Visa for Chinese tourists starts rolling out on February 15
The Department of Consular Affairs is to officially launch the first phase of the new Thai e-Visa in Beijing on February 15. China will be the first country in the world to have the service, which will be extended to other Chinese cities in early March. Chatri Archjananun, director general of the Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said…
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Thai cave rescuers announced as the Australians of the Year 2019
Craig Challen and Richard Harris have been awarded as the 2019 Australian of the Year for their contribution the Thailand cave rescue mission. They were part of the international contingent of skilled divers that brought expertise to the team that were able to figure out a way to safely extract the 13 members of the Mu Pa football team in…
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Premchai case to be handed down on March 19
The verdict in the “black leopard” poaching case against construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta and three associates is set to be handed down on March 19. Final arguments were heard today in the court in Kanchanaburi province, north-west of Bangkok. Premchai, the president of listed construction giant Italian-Thai Development, was arrested and charged with poaching in Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in…
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Car driver killed after colliding with pickup on Bypass Road
PHOTOS: The Phuket City Police A car driver has been killed after colliding with a pickup truck on the Bypass road today. The Phuket City Police were notified of the incident at 11am today on the Bypass Road, northbound, at a U-turn near the Premium Outlet Store. Police report that the driver of a red car, driven by 60 year…
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Round ’em up, ship ’em out – another 500 foreigners arrested in crackdown
Authorities have rounded up another 503 foreigners for overstaying their visas, entering Thailand illegally and assorted other crimes during simultaneous searches at 217 locations around the country early today. Immigration Police Bureau deputy chief Pol Maj-General Itthipol Itthisarnronnachai says the raids are part of the government’s crackdown on transnational scammers, card skimmers and drug traffickers, as well as foreigners breaking…
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