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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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What is 5G? Everything you should know about the next-gen mobile.
So what is 5G? 5G literally means fifth-generation wireless technology. The successor to 4G, the biggest changes include higher speeds, lower latency, and the ability to connect more devices at once. The benefits of 5G aren’t limited to its use. Qualcomm is predicting a $12.3 trillion economic boost worldwide, with 22 million new jobs thanks to both the infrastructure and…
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1 dead after monk rear-ends pickup in Nakhon Ratchasima
A woman is dead after a monk rear-ended the pickup truck in which she was riding in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima. Police say the incident occurred about 1:15 pm yesterday on a road along an irrigation canal in tambon Krachon. A spokesman said 24 year old Likit Chuamo was driving the pickup, taking nine people to a nearby…
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South Korea wages “all-out response” – cases exceed 4,000
“The government is now waging all-out responses after raising the crisis alert to the highest level.” South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in has announced that is government will wage “all-out responses” in response to the outbreak of coronavirus which has added 476 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total of infections to 4,212. The death toll in South…
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Panic, precautions and contradictions over Thailand’s first coronavirus death
Mild panic, and a new raft of precautions pervades the Coronavirus narrative in Thailand as we head into another week. Over the weekend the Health Ministry announced a new range of precautionary measures whilst most of Thailand’s tourist spots remain quiet – a lot quieter than usual. There was also the announcement of the first coronavirus-related death in Thailand over…
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Death of a salesman: King Power branch linked with coronavirus death is closed
King Power, Thailand’s largest travel retail group, has temporarily shuttered an outlet linked to Thailand’s first coronavirus-related death. A statement on Facebook earlier today said the branch has been closed since February 6 as part of health and safety measures, and that all its outlets have been sanitised. King Power, which holds the proprietary concession for all of Thailand’s duty-free…
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Pattaya ladyboy attacks American tourist with sodium hydroxide
Pattaya police announced the arrest of a transgender suspect who allegedly attacked an American tourist with sodium hydroxide over the weekend. Sodium hydroxide, also called lye or caustic soda, is a highly corrosive chemical that decomposes proteins at ordinary ambient temperatures and can cause cause severe chemical burns. It’s used in making wood pulp for paper and is a primary…
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Chiang Mai to see passenger numbers fall by 40% in wake of virus fears
The numbers at Chiang Mai’s international airport will fall 40% to 3.5 million in the first six months of this year if the outbreak of Covid-19 coronavirus drags on until the middle of the year. Chiang Mai airport deputy director Thananrat Prasertsri said late last week that flights to the airport during the period January 1 to February 25 dropped…
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France bans large gatherings, discourages “air kisses”
The number of coronavirus cases in France has nearly doubled and currently stands at 100, of whom 86 are hospitalised, two have died and 12 have recovered, according Jerome Salomon, the head of France’s national health service. To fight the spread of the virus, France is banning all indoor public gatherings of more than 5,000, and discouraging the public from…
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Surin teacher faces severe punishment for selling teen girls for sex
A 51 year old local schoolteacher in Thailand’s northeastern Surin province, near the Cambodian border, was among the owners of three karaoke bars caught selling the sexual services of underaged Thai girls this week. Nineteen women, thought to be sex workers, were taken into custody following raids on the bars. The businesses were closed and their owners face a range…
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Man arrested for gunshots at Nontha Buri mall “to intimidate his wife”
In a further development to a story the Thaiger reported earlier, a Thai man has been arrested for firing a gun on Friday at the Central Plaza shopping mall in Nontha Buri, just outside of Bangkok. Police responded swiftly to the shooting and no casualties were reported. “The suspect is 41 years old and he reportedly fired six shots while…
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Students say they’ll increase protests until PM stands down
About 700 students joined a rally last night in front of the auditorium at Bangkok’s Kasetsart University, vowing to escalate their protests until the government of Prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha steps down. University and secondary students have been rallying on or near their campuses since Monday to demand a rewrite of Thailand’s 2017 Constitution and transparent elections. Pro-democracy activist Parit…
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OPINION: Doomsday, the Black Swan and no fear
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore” is how I am feeling on a Saturday afternoon. My senses are bruised and battered after a weeklong barrage of panic, blurring sensational bad news headlines and a mounting sense of fear amongst my fellow humans. What is clear in the grand scheme…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: China cases ease, 42 cases now in Thailand
The total confirmed cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) is now 85,217, with 2,924 people having succumbed to the disease. 39,554 people have fully recovered, approaching 50% of total cases. In Thailand there are now 42 confirmed cases with 28 people listed as “recovered”. The latest Thai victim is a 21 year old salesman whose job is said to have exposed him to foreign…
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New confirmed patient brings total to 42. Health ministry announce tough new measures.
The Thai Public Health Ministry has confirmed a new infection in the country, bringing the national total to 42. 28 patients have already recovered with no deaths recorded in Thailand from the virus. At the same time the health ministry has now designated Coronavirus Covid-19 as a dangerous communicable disease, a designation which takes effect tomorrow. The announcement gives authorities sweeping…
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Tough new coronavirus measures start tomorrow
The Public Health Ministry today confirmed a new COVID-19 coronavirus infection, bringing Thailand’s national total to 42. An announcement from the ministry designating Covid-19 as a “dangerous communicable disease” will take effect tomorrow, strengthening authorities’ ability to combat the spread of the virus. Sukhum Kanchanaphimai, the ministry’s permanent secretary, says the newest victim is a 21 year old salesman, whose…
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Australian bodybuilding champ arrested in Pattaya for illegal work, hormones
An Australian bodybuilder was arrested in Pattaya yesterday for working without a permit and being in possession of illegal hormones. Police say they received a tip from a concerned citizen that Rohan Jeffrey Reid, a well known former winner of amateur bodybuilding tournaments in Australia, was working illegally, organising and profiting from “Thai Muscle Camp” programs for foreigners. Reid allegedly…
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Coronavirus myths: Eight things you should probably already know
Two months after the first cases came to the attention of the world, a lot more is known about the coronavirus, aka. Covid-19. Here’s a few well established myths and a few scientific facts. MYTH: ‘Face masks don’t work’ Wearing a face mask is no guarantee that you won’t be infected. However, masks are effective at capturing droplets and larger…
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Lao woman kept as a slave for 9 years
The anti-human trafficking division of the Royal Thai Police yesterday arrested a Thai couple in the province of of Samut Sakhon, southwest of Bangkok, for the enslavement of a Lao woman. The couple kept the woman in a storage room and treated her as a slave for nine years. The suspects were identified as 60 year old Suchin Vipusitthikul and…
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South Korea virus cases skyrocket, approaching 3000
The World Health Organization has raised its risk alert to its highest level, as South Korea confirmed 594 more coronavirus (COVID-19) cases today, its biggest single-day increase, bringing the national total to 2,931. Three additional deaths were also reported. The Korean Centres for Disease Control and Prevention say that more than 90% of the new cases were in Daegu, the…
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World’s largest travel fair, ITB, cancelled in Berlin
Organisers of the world’s biggest travel expo, the ITB travel trade fair in Berlin, have cancelled the event over coronavirus fears. 160,000 visitors were expected to attend this year’s event. “We take our responsibility for the security and the health of our guests, exhibitors and employees very seriously. It is with a heavy heart that we have to look at the…
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Thailand News Today, February 28, 2020. Daily TV news update.
Shots fired in Nontha Buri mall There was another gunman alert in a Bangkok mall yesterday afternoon…. Police rushed to the Central Plaza mall in Nontha Buri province, just northwest of Bangkok after reports of gunshots inside the mall around 4:20 yesterday afternoon. There were no reports of death or injuries. A suspect was arrested and the mall is open…
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Thai minister Thammanat Prompao tells parliament he “never pled guilty” or “served time” over heroin drug charges
The Thai deputy agriculture minister Thammanat Prompao has re-ignited the controversy over his drug convictions in Australia by continuing to insist he “never pled guilty or served jail time for drug charges in Australia”. His claims are contrary to the evidence provided by the Australian courts. The ministers’s denial follows the disbanded Future Forward Party publishing an Australian court ruling on…
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Legend Siam, major Pattaya tourist attraction, closes its doors
The Legend Siam, a major cultural amusement park in Pattaya with shows and cultural attractions about Thailand, has closed and laid off all workers. A statement yesterday said the move was due to the current economic situation in Thailand caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The announcement, in English, read: “Due to the economy in Thailand last year and the COVID…
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‘Watching the Thais’ – understanding Thai culture
Why does a Thai smile at you after crashing into the back of your car? Why do Thais deplore walking? The heat, the heat. What about the weather? Why is everything done as a pack? What is all this ‘face’ stuff about? Lies? Confrontation? Sleeping and shopping? Just what is it with the Thais? What’s it all about? Author and…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: S Korean cases exceed 2,000, cases in 15 European countries
The novel coronavirus (Covid-19) has now killed at least 2,858 people worldwide as the focus of the outbreak now moves away from China and to outbreaks in central South Korea, northern Italy and other parts of Europe. 83,379 people are now infected but, notably (and increasingly), 36,562 people have fully recovered. At least 15 European countries now have confirmed cases of…
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Computer techie arrested for putting spy cams in ladies’ public toilets
A computer technician has been arrested in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, for allegedly setting up spy cams in women’s public toilets. The suspect, 23 year old Nitiwat Muikaeo is said to have sold the videos on social media. The arrest comes after parents lodged complaints with the Technology Crime Suppression Division about videos of their daughters online. Police…
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Chinese man found murdered, stuffed in suitcase and dumped in river in northern Thailand
The Thaiger recently reported the case of a thirty year old Chinese man who had visited Pattaya, found dead and stuffed in a suitcase with his arms and legs bound. The suitcase was found in the Ping river in northern Thailand’s Kamphaeng Phet Province. Our original article on this story can be found HERE: Additional details have arisen regarding the…
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Rogue policeman turned burglar recaptured in Chiang Mai
A former policeman who escaped a Chiang Mai hospital after being arrested for burglary has been re-arrested. The ex-cop, identified only as “Pawaret,” was assaulted by homeowners after he attempted to burglarise a home last weekend, which led to rescue workers taking him to hospital. He subsequently escaped the in the early hours of the morning. His escape caused panic…
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Bangkok cops bust online gun dealers
The chief of the Bangkok Metropolitan Police Bureau told a media briefing yesterday that officers have arrested six men and two women for selling firearms on Thai social media. They seized seven guns, ammunition and gun components. Police initially arrested Pairoh Chanchom for selling firearms without a licence. A subsequent, lengthy investigation led to raids on several premises and the…
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PM “concerned” about campus rallies
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has expressed “concern” over growing support for student rallies at universities and now high schools, throughout Bangkok and elsewhere, to protest the recent dissolution of the popular Future Forward party, and the possibility of confrontation and unrest. The proliferation of political rallies and demonstrations comes in the aftermath of the Future Forward party’s dissolution by the…
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