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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 Planning to extend your Thai visa? Why health insurance is more important than ever
If you plan to stay longer in Thailand, having health insurance is now more important than ever. Thai immigration often asks for proof of medical coverage when you apply to extend your visa. This applies to many types of visas,...
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500 free helmets handed out to motorbike drivers in Patong
Patong Development Foundation together with Patong Police and Patong Municipality have given 500 helmets to motorbike drivers in Patong today under the campaign ‘Wear your helmet’. Handing out the 500 helmets to motorbike user in Patong was led by Patong Police Chief Col Anothai Jindamanee, Patong Municipality Chalermluck Kebsup and President of Patong Development Foundation Preechawut ‘Prap’ Keesin. Col Anothai…
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Thailand’s sponsorship market grew 19% – 2018
ASN (Asia Sponsorship News) has just released its Sponsorship Market Overview for Thailand 2018. Local agencies have had their say on the performance of the Southeast Asian sponsorship marketplace. 2018 was a robust year for Thailand’s Sponsorship market, growing 19% year-on-year to US$223.4 million (2017’s total investment was US$188.2 million) and making grounds on reaching its previous (outlier) market peak of…
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Chinese tourists spend big during Chinese New Year holiday
Spending by Chinese tourists during the Chinese New Year holiday around the world was the highest in Thailand. Alipay, a leading digital payment platform offered by Ant Financial, an affiliate of Alibaba Group has done the sums. The transactions were recorded between February 4-10, and data drawn from the 54 international markets where Alipay is accepted. The number of transactions in…
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Chronically ill man jumps to his death from Bangkok apartment
by The Nation A 66 year old man who lived alone and suffered from chronic ailments has been found dead outside a 15 floor apartment building in Bangkok’s Bang Sue district. It is believed he committed suicide by jumping from the rooftop this morning. Taopoon police were alerted at 11am that Charn Wanngern died after he fell to the ground…
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Students are dropping out along Cambodia’s border with Thailand
by VOA A Cambodian official has reported that about 23% of children in three provinces along the border with Thailand have stopped attending school. The Cambodian Education Minister Hangchuon Naron was speaking about the student dropout rate. He said that the rate in Battambang, Banteay Meanchey and Oddor Meanchey provinces was much higher than in other areas, where rates are…
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Dog rescued from 10 metre well in Phuket
A dog has been rescued after falling into a 10 metre deep well behind a temple in Thalang. Rescue workers were called about the incident at 4pm yesterday that happened behind Tharua Temple in Thalang. They found a 10 metre deep well and a dog who’s stuck at the bottom of the well. Rescue workers abseiled into the well and…
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No fatalities or injuries reported in Lampang earthquake
PHOTOS: NNT No fatalities or injuries have been reported as a result of yesterday’s earthquake in northern Thailand. The tremors occurred 15 times and registered 4.9 magnitude with a 21 kilometre deep epicentre in the Wang Nua district of Lampang province, but caused no serious effect to villagers, according to a report of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.…
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Better analysis needed to track down the source of new chemicals in illicit drugs
The Office of Narcotics Control Board has been training personnel in drug analysis to handle new illicit substances coming onto the streets. A Chinese analysis lab has recently discovered 230 new psychotropic substances which are making their way into recreational drugs and other foods. China has subsequently banned several beverages and sweets that contain these new illegal substances. Thailand’s Justice…
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Army chief’s intervention in election campaign backfires
by Jitraporn Sennawong and Nattaphat Phromkaew The Thai Army chief’s attempt to scare politicians from discussing the Army’s budget and reform by indirectly calling them “enemies of the state” has backfired. Many Thais have emerged with additional proposals for reforms of the military, and others are protesting the chief’s invocation of the jingoistic military anthem. Political critics and social media…
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Man arrested over 50 million baht scam
A man has been arrested for allegedly defrauding around 100 stock market investors of about 50 million baht. Pol Lt Gen Suchate Hakparn, the Immigration Bureau chief who also heads the economic crime centre, says 52 year old Jittaraphon Nisarat was arrested on Tuesday at his apartment in Bangkok’s Phra Khanong district. Surachate says Jittaraphon was arrested under a warrant…
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Five year old Finnish boy mauled by dogs at Krabi Beach
A five year old Finnish boy has been seriously injured after being attacked and mauled by a pack of dogs at Ao Nang Beach in Krabi. Rescue workers at Ao Nang were notified of the incident at 6.30 last night. Rescue workers arrived to find the Finnish boy in distress and crying out with pain. The boy’s father was already…
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Weather for February 21
Bangkok Generally clear. High 35ºC. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 km/h. Phuket Generally clear. High 32ºC. ENE winds shifting to W at 15 to 25 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 36ºC. Winds SE and variable. pattaya Partly cloudy, with a possible thunderstorm. High 30ºC. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Chance of rain 30%. Hua Hin Generally…
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Thai baht surges against weakening US dollar
The Thai baht is soaring to its highest level against the US dollar in more than half a decade. Analysts are expecting the Thai currency to continue marching past the 31 baht to the US dollar mark. Currency experts believe the baht’s strength could be partly due to the weakness of the US dollar as investors speculate on the current…
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Police investigate motorbike hoons in Patong
PHOTOS: Patong Police Patong Police are investigating alleged foreign motorbike racing gangs in Patong after a viral video clip in local social media. The Patong Police report that the clip of tourists who have been driving their motorbikes at high speed around the streets of Patong has been very popular and provided them with a lot of information about the…
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Thailand will swelter through searing temperatures this summer
Temperatures in Thailand this summer is forecast to be 1-2 degrees Celsius warmer than last year. The announcement comes from the Thai Meteorological Department director-general Phuwiang Prakammin. And it’s predicted to hit 42-43C in seven provinces in northern Thailand. In Thailand summer, as a regional season, is listed as running between February 21 to mid-May. Phuwiang says daytime temperatures in…
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Elderly motorbike driver dies in Thalang crash
A 74 year old motorbike driver has died after colliding with a high speed taxi in Thalang this morning. The Thalang Police headed to the accident near an intersection of Thepkrasattri – Nai Yang Road in Thalang at 7.40am. When they arrived they found a damaged taxi. Nearby they located the damaged motorbike. 74 year old Somchai Uttasaha, the motorbike…
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Thief steals rescuer’s wallet on Hua Hin beach
A tourist has drowned whilst swimming at Hua His Beach near Soi 69. Tragic indeed. But a foreigner Good Samaritan who went in to help the man has had his wallet stolen from the beach whilst trying to save the man. A video taken around 1 pm yesterday shows a group of foreigners doing their best to revive the man;…
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Chiang Mai’s sword-wielding song thaew driver charged over intimidating tactics – VIDEO
Story from Sanook. Video from Thai Rath The red song thaew driver, who followed a white sedan around the moat road waving a sword in Chiang Mai, has now been charged by the police. Sanook reports that 69 year old ‘Son’ has now been charged with having a knife in public and behaving in an intimidating manner that could scare…
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Foreign tourists being tracked down for driving dangerously in Pattaya
Daily News reports that Pattaya Police are tracking down two foreigners caught on video riding recklessly in the Jomtien area, south of Pattaya. The video clip shows the two men waiting at traffic lights before racing each other with one man splaying his legs and doing a “wheelie”. Neither of the pair were wearing a helmet or shirts. The Pattaya…
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Mahout charged after Italian tourists injured from elephant attack
A mahout has been charged after an elephant attacked an Italian tourist in Phang Nga yesterday. Phang Nga livestock officials say the elephant was too young for elephant rides. A 29 year old Italian tourist, and his 31 year old travel companion, remain in Phang Nga hospital this morning following the elephant attack yesterday. Read more about the attack HERE. Chief…
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Weather for February 20
Bangkok Generally clear. High 34ºC. Winds S at 10 to 15 km/h. Phuket Generally clear. High 31ºC. Winds NE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 35ºC. Winds SE and variable. Pattaya Generally clear. High 31ºC. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 km/h. Hua Hin Generally clear. High 31ºC. Winds SE at 10 to 15 km/h. Ko…
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Syrian woman arrested with fake Spanish passport at Suvarnabhumi Airport
PHOTOS: Immigration Bureau Immigration officers at Suvarnabhumi Airport have arrested a Syrian woman with a fake Spain passport. The Immigration Bureau reports that, while they were patrolling the airport, they found the woman who was acting suspiciously. They asked to see her passport which had her name listed on the passport as Alampana Albana, a Spanish national. She was waiting for…
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Italian tourists injured in goring attack by bull elephant in Phang Nga park
A 29 year old Italian tourist, and his travel companion, are in a Phang Nga hospital this morning following an elephant attack. The man was seriously injured yesterday when a 12 year old male elephant, that he and a friend were riding as part of a tourist activity in Phang Nga’s Mueang district, suddenly shook them to the ground and…
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Man dies instantly in temple fireworks explosion in Chaiyaphum
A 59 year old man, serving as a civil defence volunteer at a Chaiyaphum temple fair, has been killed instantly after picking up a seemingly half-lit giant fireworks pipe that then blew up in his face. Chaiyaphum is in central Thailand, north-east of Bangkok. The incident took place at Wat Ban Muang Kao in Kaset Sombun district last night. The annual…
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Swordwielding song thaews driver slapped on the wrist – no police action
The head of the infamous Chiang Mai red song thaews says he has spoken with a driver after the man wielded a sword out of his window at another driver who he claimed had tooted his horn. But that’s it. Nothing more. CCTV on the Maneenopparat Road shows the incident as the song thaew driver tailgates the white Honda Jazz,…
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Spanish man arrested in Bangkok over alleged raped
PHOTO: INN News Immigration Officers have arrested a Spanish man after he allegedly raped a handcuffed Thai woman. INN News reports that the 30 year old Spanish man was arrested following the issuing of an arrest warrant for the alleged rape of the woman. The incident happened last Saturday at a luxury condominium in Thong Lor, Bangkok. The female Thai…
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Airport smokers kicked out of Thai terminals
The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) says they strongly support Thailand’s move to ban smoking inside the passenger terminals of all its airports, to protect employees and non-smoking travellers from exposure to secondhand smoke. On February 3 this year, the Airports of Thailand (AoT) removed all smoking rooms inside the airports of Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat…
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Two Thai motorcyclists injured as British man makes a “sudden U-turn”
Two Thais on a motorbike have hit a car driven by a British man in Thepprasit Road, Pattaya early yesterday morning. The Pattaya News reports that local police and Sawang Boriboon emergency responders headed to the scene where they found a Honda City with Chonburi plates stopped in the middle of the road. It had damage to the right rear side.…
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Dog patiently watches over deceased master on Pathum Thani roadside
A man, who had left home a month ago to live by the roadside with a stray dog in Pathum Thani, has been found dead. The dog was watching over the body when others discovered the deceased man. Pathum Thani is just north of Bangkok. The deceased has been identified as 45 year old Surachai Khamsue. He was found lying…
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Motorbike driver dies after slamming into the back of a parked bus, Phuket
A motorbike driver has died after colliding with the rear of a parked bus on the side of the road in Thalang this morning. Thalang Police say the incident happened at 5am on Sanambin Mueangmai Road (4026) which is about 200 metres from the Thalang Technical College. Police and emergency responders arrived to find the parked bus. Embedded into the…
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