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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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North Korea prepared to use nuclear weapons at ‘any time’ if provoked
Kim Jong-un has warned the world that North Korea is ready to use nuclear weapons against foreign powers at ‘any time’ if provoked. In a state-televised military parade held in Pyongyang on Monday, the North Korean leader pledged to develop nuclear forces as quickly as possible… “If any forces try to violate the fundamental interests of our state, our nuclear…
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Phuket gets ready to shift into ‘endemic’ stage
Phuket Governor Narong announced in a meeting yesterday that the island province is getting ready to shift into an ‘endemic’ stage for its Covid-19 situation. At the meeting, held at Phuket Provincial Hall, it was noted that Phuket recorded an average of 162 cases a day. 87.7% of those were local infections. Only 2-3% of people confirmed infected required hospital…
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Thai ex boxer allegedly steals British tourist’s bag in Krabi
Police in Krabi arrested a former boxer at a house in Meuang district today for allegedly stealing a British tourist’s bag. The British man, 23 year old Fraser William, said he left his bag on the beach when he and his friend went swimming on Sunday. The bag had 5,000 baht in cash, along with credit cards and the key…
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Anutin says Thailand Pass may be scrapped, if Covid-19 continues to improve
The Covid-19 situation in Thailand is beginning to stabilise and if cases continue to decrease, the Ministry of Health will consider completely cancelling the Thailand Pass, according to Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. In an interview today, Anutin said the Covid-19 situation in the kingdom is improving. He said the total number of infections, hospitalisations and deaths are all decreasing, as…
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Myanmar’s ex-leader Suu Kyi sentenced to 5 years in prison
Ousted leader of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to five years in prison by a court in Myanmar, according to an anonymous source with access to her trial, which is being tightly controlled by the junta. The charge was the first of 11 corruption charges filed against her, so her prison sentence…
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Wednesday Covid Update: 14,887 new cases; provincial totals
125 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 28,144 with 6,446 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 14,887 new Covid-19 cases and 18,919 recoveries. There are now 162,967 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. The trend of new Covid infections…
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Canadian man to be deported from Bali for naked dance on volcano
They say fame comes at a price. It definitely did for one Canadian man in Bali who posted a viral video of himself dancing naked on a volcano believed to be sacred by the Balinese. After his little stunt, he is set to be deported from the Indonesian island. Craigen reportedly posted a video of himself doing a Maori dance…
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UPDATE: Police charge 6 suspects, close Tangmo investigation
Recklessness. That’s the conclusion police came to about what caused the death of Thai actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharaveerapong, who fell from a boat and drowned in the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi, north of Bangkok, on the night of February 24. Police presented a summary of their monthslong investigation yesterday and announced charges against 6 suspects, including all 5 people…
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Man becomes first person ever to rollerblade across Thailand
A Thai man set a new record on Sunday by becoming the first person in the world to rollerblade from the northernmost to the southernmost tip of Thailand. The man’s journey from Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai to Betong district in Yala covered 2,051 kilometres and took 55 days. People have famously run the same route and many Thai’s…
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Koh Samui eyes European tourists following cancellation of Test & Go
Samui is eyeing European tourists after the Thai government confirmed the Test & Go entry program is being ditched from the end of April. On Koh Samui, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has met with local tourism associations, as well as over 30 leading European travel agencies. The get-together was to showcase several tourism attractions, activities, and hotels on the…
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Thai virologist calls for young children to be protected as under 5s die of Covid-19
A leading Thai virologist is calling on parents to protect children under the age of 5 from contracting Covid-19, as there is no vaccine to protect them. According to a Thai PBS World report, Dr Yong Poovorawan from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine, so far this year, 51 children have died of Covid-19, 39 of whom were under the age…
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Thailand’s Prayut calls for sympathy on end of diesel price cap
As Thailand’s price cap on diesel comes to a screeching halt next month, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is asking the public to try to understand the government’s limits in controlling prices. On May 1, the government is set to lower the subsidy on diesel. Up until now, the price cap has kept it at 30 baht per litre. On Tuesday, Thailand’s…
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Tourism Authority of Thailand sticking to target of 300,000 visitors a month
With a glass half-full in one hand, and a calculator in the other, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is confident the country will see 300,000 tourists a month – potentially more towards the end of the year. Yuthasak Supasorn says his agency will meet with tourism operators on April 29, to discuss promotional strategies for the international market. He remains…
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Sun will be directly overhead at noon today in Thailand
Grab your parasols. For a few minutes at noon today, pedestrians in Thailand won’t see their shadows on the sidewalk. That’s because at exactly 12:16pm, April 27, the sun will appear directly overhead in the Land of Smiles. However, the Meteorological Department says this does not guarantee that Wednesday will be the hottest day of the year, due to forecasted…
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Hotels urge government to reconsider collection of land tax as they fight to survive
The Thai Hotels Association is petitioning the government to reconsider collecting the full rate of land and building tax this year. THA president Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi says imposing the levy will have a serious impact on businesses fighting for survival. “The government should carefully look at the context, as hotel revenue remains much lower than the value of properties, especially…
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Taxi driver robs drunk foreigner, steals gold necklace, cash and passport
A taxi driver robbed a foreigner who was passed out drunk on the floor in front of a convenience store in Thailand. The thief grabbed his gold necklace and a bag containing cash, passport and other important documents before fleeing the scene. The exact location of the crime hasn’t yet been reported. The victim’s Thai girlfriend handed the CCTV footage…
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Thai authorities warn of jail time for catching or selling protected geckos
Rumours in Thailand saying geckos can sell for up to 1 million baht, depending on their size, might actually be true. Many Thai people have caught and sold geckos as a full-time job. But now the nation’s gecko hunters and sellers have to be more cautious since the authorities issued a warning, saying some geckos are on the wildlife preservation…
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US company opens medical marijuana clinic in Thailand
A US cannabis company has jointly opened a medical marijuana clinic in Thailand, making it the first foreign franchise to do so. The clinic, located on Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Soi 13, treats Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer, eating disorders and insomnia. The clinic predicts that changes to Thai laws in July will allow them to give patients THC-dominant products for research purposes. Smoking…
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Tangmo: Police conclude Thai actress died of ‘recklessness’, 6 suspects charged
Following a monthslong investigation into the death of Thai actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharaveerapong, police have finally charged all 5 of her boating buddies, plus a man who allegedly coached them, with various offences, including recklessness leading to death, lying to police and concealing evidence. At a press conference today at the headquarters of Provincial Police Region 1 in Bangkok, police…
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Not cleaning your air conditioner can cause pneumonia, says Department of Health
Professional air conditioner cleaning services have been swamped with work this week after Thailand’s Department of Health announced that dirty air conditioning units can cause pneumonia. Moist air conditioner units are breeding grounds for bacteria, viruses and fungi according to the department. High numbers of private residences and businesses have requested professional cleaning of their air conditioner units this week…
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Hundreds queue for free food handouts in Pattaya
Images of hundreds of residents queuing up to receive free bags of rice and other dried foods on April 23 2022 in Pattaya suggest that Thailand’s economy still has a long way to go on the road to recovery. During “lockdown” in Pattaya in 2020, huge crowds of people queuing for 200 baht food and drinks handouts from Rom Pho…
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All Thailand-Myanmar border checkpoints closed, massively affecting trade
Myanmar had closed down all of the checkpoints along the Thai-Myanmar border since April 23. Business owners have cried foul saying that they might lose up to 500,000 baht per day and wanted the Thai government to coordinate with Burmese authorities to solve the problem. After the car bomb exploding on the first Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge on April 23, Thai officials…
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1,000 Thai students fail exams due to ‘misunderstanding’
Around 1,000 Thai students have failed their exams to get into university after an exam supervisor told the students that they didn’t have to write down their names and serial numbers on their exam sheets. They believed what he had said and followed the instructions. Unfortunately, the Council of University Presidents of Thailand declined to mark their exam papers since…
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Yell Advertising- a fast emerging advertising agency in Thailand
Press Release In recent years, the rise of Chinese brands has impacted the advertising business globally. With massive spending growth, advertising agencies embraced that opportunity. But when you dive deep into detail, the Chinese have unique characteristics. Many network agencies have difficulty coping with the Chinese brands’ “world’s best-selling” mentality. Why do big brands find success working with a local…
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Tuesday Covid Update: 13,816 new cases; provincial totals
120 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA in Thailand today, raising the pandemic’s total death toll in Thailand to 28,019 with 6,321 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 13,816 new Covid-19 cases and 21,072 recoveries. There are now 167,124 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
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GPS tracking collars for Thai elephants to follow their activities
Thailand’s wildlife authorities have successfully tracked and tagged a third of the wild elephant in the Phu Luang wildlife sanctuary in the north-eastern province of Loei (near the Laos border) attaching a GPS collar which will follow the elephant’s activities after many had left their normal grazing grounds for food. The GPS collars are being attached to 5 elephants and…
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More than 2,000 locals queue up to claim Covid-19 insurance after companies go broke
More than 2,000 Thais queued up at Suan Lum Night Bazaar Ratchdapisek in Bangkok to claim money from their Covid-19 insurance. Thais use the phrase “Found-Paid-Done” for the collection of insurance monies owed to them. The office of the Thai Insurance Commission is adjacent to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. Some people had slept in front of the building for…
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Elon Musk buys Twitter, vows to ‘unlock’ platform’s ‘tremendous potential’
The world’s richest man has bought the world’s more divisive social media platform. Elon Musk succeeded in buying Twitter Inc, after the board approved his offer of US$44 billion cash on Monday. The purchase gives Musk total control of the social media platform, which has nearly 400 million users, including influential world leaders. Prior to the takeover, Musk had purchased…
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Country with biggest penis size revealed… it’s not Thailand
In a recent survey conducted by online pharmacy From Mars comparing erect penis sizes in 86 countries, Thai penises were ranked as the 7th smallest in the world (#80). The average erect Thai penis measures in at 4.27 inches (10.8cm). We’re not sure on the accuracy of the measurements, or how they performed them. Some of the measurements may be…
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Ousted Burmese leader Suu Kyi appears in court on corruption charge
Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically-elected former leader of Myanmar who was ousted in a military coup last year, has appeared in court on a corruption charge. The case is one of multiple cases being brought against her, with the threat of lengthy prison time if she’s found guilty. According to comments made to Reuters by an unnamed source close…
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