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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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Australian drug trafficker breaks silence on hellish 7 years in Thai prison
An Australian woman convicted of drug trafficking has broken her silence about her hellish seven years behind bars in a maximum-security prison in Bangkok, Thailand. Holly Deane-Johns was spared the death sentence and handed 31 years in prison in 2003 after pleading guilty to attempting to post 10.6 grams of heroin from Thailand to Australia in 2000 when she was…
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New hospital aims to boost Samui medical tourism
A new hospital hopes to boost medical and wellness tourism on the popular holiday island of Koh Samui. Wattanapat Samui Hospital has just opened its doors, marking the fifth medical facility on the island. The hospital has 380 beds, specialist personnel, and modern equipment that are expected to boost confidence in Koh Samui as a wellness destination. Dr Somchai Chansawang,…
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Government websites mostly hacked to promote gambling
When a government website gets hacked, one might assume it’s an act of cyber warfare or a government opposition protest group. The truth is far less nefarious. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) announced that, out of about 500 cyberattacks on government websites last year, two-thirds of the hacks were to promote online gambling websites. According to the…
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Christian Atsu’s body returns home to Ghana
The body of former Newcastle United footballer Christian Atsu has been returned to his native Ghana. He died in the earthquake that hit Turkey two weeks ago, The transportation of the 31 year old’s coffin was carried out by members of Ghana’s armed forces after the flight arrived in Accra last night. Atsu was discovered dead beneath his residence in…
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Thai Airways cabin crew forgets to collect meal trays before landing on Singapore-Bangkok flight
Thai Airways is ‘”urgently investigating” why cabin crew failed to collect meal trays on a Singapore – Bangkok flight before landing on the runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport after an irked passenger recorded the incident on TikTok. TikTok user Praewa Nang Mana (@Praewa_panicha) posted a clip of food trays sitting on the foldable tables of three seats. As the plane lands,…
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Young Polish woman claims to be Madeleine McCann, citing rare eye defect (video)
A 21 year old Polish woman has made an extraordinary claim that she may be Madeleine McCann, the four year old British girl who went missing while on holiday with her parents in Portugal in 2007. The woman posted a six-minute video on the Instagram account @iammadeleinemcann, stating that she has the same rare eye defect as Madeleine and wants…
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Russian woman rushed to hospital after Patong hotel fire
Rescuers rushed a Russian woman to a hospital after a fire broke out at a Patong hotel kitchen on Saturday. The woman, Svetlana Stashko, suffered from smoke inhalation after the blaze broke out on the hotel’s first floor. The hotel is located on Phang Mueang Sai Kor Road. Firefighters arrived on the scene and were able to put out the…
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Thai cops bust Chinese man over counterfeit electronics worth 20 million baht
Thai cops busted a Chinese man in Bangkok over counterfeit electronics that cost over 20 million baht. Officers from the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD) found fake phones and electronic devices in a raid at a warehouse in the Don Mueang district on Friday. The team searched three buildings and found Huang Yiqun, a 56 year old Chinese national, working…
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ASEAN to rescue trafficking victims from Chinese gangs
Thailand is a key destination country for migrant workers, human trafficking, and forced labour. Many IT jobseekers who end up in Thailand look to ASEAN to rescue trafficking victims recruited by Chinese gangs as slaves in cybercrime factories. ASEAN is now to help rescue these trafficking victims reeled in with promises of high-paying jobs overseas which turn out to be…
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Thailand’s Q4 economy slows as exports decline
Thailand’s Q4 economy grew by 1.4% in the final quarter of 2022 with hopes high for a tourism-led recovery. Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy grew slower than expected in the fourth quarter of 2022 as exports and manufacturing declined. The much-anticipated rebound in tourism will continue to boost the recovery this year as global demand for manufactured goods declines. On a…
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Woman’s body found in water tank believed to be suicide
An elderly woman’s body was discovered in a 2,000-litre water tank behind a house in Nakhon Si Thammarat province. The grizzly discovery was made this morning behind a row house near a commercial building in Mueang district. Police believe the 67 year old woman committed suicide. The woman had been missing since February 15, and her husband has been searching…
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2 monkeys dead as police catch smugglers red-handed
We’re not going to make a “monkey business” pun, but there’s big business in smuggling monkeys. Two men were apprehended attempting to catch long-tailed macaques and were expecting to receive up to 100,000 baht per monkey. Police arrested the two men at the Wat Khao No tourist attraction in Nakhon Sawan. A 23 year old man and a 37 year…
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AoT increasing airport services to meet tourist demand
Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok’s global gateway, plans to increase services to deal with the influx of arriving passengers. Thailand saw a swift surge in travellers after China’s recent decision to reopen its borders. The Airports of Thailand (AoT) announced Friday that the measures will help tackle delays in passenger servicing time, particularly during peak hours. They say they have already…
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Russian brotherhood stealing Phuket jobs
Hotels are unwelcoming. In the massage parlours, everyone is tense. Down Walking Street, in the girly bars, excitement is high and the air is filled with fearful chatter. The girls are aquiver in anticipation. The Russian ‘brotherhood’ (bratva) stealing Phuket jobs is bringing a whole new style of beatings and rapes to Thailand’s peaceful brothels. How will the new regime…
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Single Russian roulette bullet kills two men
A single irresponsible bullet ended the life of two men playing a game in Ayutthaya in the early hours of yesterday morning. While playing a game of Russian roulette, a 30 year old man fired a .38 calibre pistol at his head and lost the game. The bullet passed through his head and hit his 23 year old friend who…
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Chinese billionaire tech banker Bao Fan is missing
Chinese billionaire tech banker Bao Fan is missing. The disappearance of the China Renaissance renegade chair is not a huge surprise but raises fears of a fresh crackdown on China’s finance industry With billionaire boss either banged up or on the lam, Renaissance, one of the country’s top investment banks has plunged into turmoil. ‘Do not believe the rumours’ Bao…
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Thailand’s new lotteries sold via Pao Tang app
The Government Lottery Office approved a plan for Thailand’s new lotteries – the six-digit (L6) and three-digit (N3) lotteries. The move was proposed by the Finance Ministry. Entry into the L6 lottery will be 80 baht (US$2.30), the same as lotteries currently available. The L6 lottery will only be available in digital format. Tickets will be sold via the Pao…
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Singapore sees first Covid vaccine death
The Ministry of Health (MOH) in Singapore announced the death of a 28-year-old Bangladeshi man, likely related to a Covid-19 vaccine. He died away 21 days after receiving the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine. The State Coroner has confirmed that the cause of death was myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. The MOH has also stated that the man’s death was a “medical…
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Longtail boats with roofs pulled after several capsized
After two deaths and many injuries so far this year, about 80 longtail boats in Krabi that were modified by adding roofs are being called in. The Krabi Marine Office made the announcement after three longtail boats capsized in the last two months. The roofs make the boats less stable in stronger winds. They also make the small boats heavier…
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Independent Chinese travellers demand freedom
Independent Chinese travellers are set to shake up expectations in Thailand and across all of Southeast Asia. More than 10 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand in 2019. Almost all of them were on a strict schedule overseen by a terrifying tour guide. Almost all spent most of their money on Chinese-owned operations. Many were riding around in buses provided by…
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Thailand’s cheating lecturers – the lazy academics faking their research
Thailand’s cheating lecturers are under investigation as eight of the kingdom’s universities claim that a third of lecturers have submitted research papers that they bought on the Internet and claimed as their work. Sirirurg Songsivilai, permanent secretary of the department of higher education, told the media that… “Thirty-four universities have conducted separate investigations into research papers submitted by more than…
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The Importance of Wellness ft. Niels Steeman | Thaiger Podcast Ep.24
Click the link to watch the video: https://youtu.be/WaQ-gHWE1NA Niels Steeman. Health, Fitness & Life Coach. A former senior executive in the travel and tourist industry turned health and wellness expert. Throughout his transformative journey he has gained an extensive amount of knowledge that has led into providing sustainable success stories for many of his clients using The Thrive Approach. A…
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Police major killed in Yala bomb blast
The police major killed in a Yala bomb blast has been named Pol Maj Prasan Kongprasit, an inspector at Bannang Sata District Police Station. Prasan succumbed to injuries yesterday sustained when a homemade explosive device went off earlier in the day. Four others were wounded by shrapnel when the bomb exploded as they examined a crime scene in the southern…
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All the single ladies… Unmarried Thai women sick of being bad-mouthed
As a foreigner who is not married and has no intention of ever marrying, unmarried Thai women are not happy with me, and neither is anyone else. It seems to me that Thai society is composed of everyone knowing their own place and knowing everyone else’s place too. There actually is a place for a “man like me” – it’s…
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Chuwit stirs up nest of triad rats
The pied piper of Bangkok, Chuwit Kamolvisit, is whistling out another nest of triad rats. King Rat, toots Chuwit, is none other than a certain Chinese national known as Yu Xinqi. Triads show up in Thailand under the protection of Yu’s “Shaanxi Association of Thailand,” nothing more than a trafficking ring that allows the wrong sort of Chinese people to…
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Russian man rushed to hospital after being found in stolen pickup truck in Phuket
A Russian man was rushed to a hospital after police found him in a stolen pickup truck parked at a Phuket beach. Sakhu police found the man, 27 year old Egor Andriesh, in the truck parked on Nai Thon Beach, The Phuket News reported. The doors of the pickup were locked, and officers had to call a locksmith to open…
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SRT insists 96.3 million baht robots are worth the dosh
The Thai public demanded clarification regarding the benefits and quality of the UV-C light disinfection robots after the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) splashed 96.3 million baht on the equipment. Many have claimed that they have yet to witness the costly robots in operation despite the SRT’s purchase of them. According to a report from the Public Relations Department of…
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Thai monk starring in sex clip claims he was drugged by German man
A Thai monk is in the spotlight after a video of him performing oral sex on a German man circulated on the Internet. The Buddhist monk admitted it was him in the clip but claims it was filmed two years ago when he temporarily left the monkhood. Not only that, he claims that the German man drugged him with a…
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Phuket beaches issue jellyfish warning after increase in stings
Phuket beaches now have signs warning swimmers of jellyfish after an increase in the number of beachgoers being stung by the marine creatures. According to the Phuket News, officers from the Phuket Marine Resources Conservation Centre and local administrative organisations have been stocking lifeguard stations with extra bottles of vinegar and other medical supplies to help treat stings. The west…
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Thai Airways cancels flights to Germany due to strikes
Thai Airways announced the cancellation of all flights from Bangkok to Frankfurt and Munich and vice versa today – February 17 – due to labour strikes at airports all over Germany. Airport workers at major hubs in Germany are taking part in a day-long strike today over pay disrupting airline operations. Public sector workers and ground handlers are striking at…
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