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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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“Tourist arrivals to plunge 50% in first half of 2020” – Thai Tourism Minister
Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has painted a gloomy outlook for Thailand’s previously-robust tourism industry. He says he expects tourist arrivals to plunge by 50% in the first half of 2020 because of the coronavirus outbreak. His predictions are born out by sluggish arrival numbers at the country’s main airports, hotel forward bookings and ‘landing slots’ cancelled by international…
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New coronavirus case confirmed in Thailand, brings total to 34
A new case of the coronavirus (covid-19) has now been confirmed in Thailand which brings the total in the country to 34 since the start of this year. The public health ministry made the announcement yesterday. The new case is a 35 year old Thai female, a medical personnel, who was infected after contact with a patient, Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchia, according…
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More than 200 couples exchange vows on Valentine’s Day 2020 in Phuket
Knots were tied, brooms were jumped, rings were donned and brides were kissed. All three of Phuket’s district offices, Muang Phuket, Kathu and Thalang, were packed yesterday as couples vied to get married on Valentine’s Day. 109 couples registered their marriage at the Muang District Office alone, with the island’s vice governor present as a witness. The 109 couples, of…
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German man falls to his death from Pattaya condo
A German man is dead after falling from a condominium in Jomtien, Pattaya, yesterday. Police learned of the incident, in Soi Na Jomtien 18, at 6pm and rushed to the scene with rescue workers and local media to find the body of a 78 year old German national . Police told the media the man had health issues. No sign…
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Korat shooter video goes viral
A video, purportedly showing the soldier in last weekend’s mass shooting killing an army private before taking guns and ammunition from an armoury, has gone viral today. It comes after a week of editorials and public condemnation of the behaviour of netizens and media who shared gruesome images of the slaughter. The three minute clip, the authenticity of which has…
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‘Leaving Thailand’ – From Phuket with love and heartaches
“In his new memoir “Leaving Thailand,” a former journalist, film tech and Phuket resident looks back on his life and loves in the kingdom that continue to haunt and inspire him.” By Jim Algie I’m wary of memoirs set in Thailand in which a sex-starved Western man descends on the country to get caught up in the carnal circus of…
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Attempted murder charge for Bangkok gunman
Multiple charges have been lain against against the man who allegedly fired more than 50 shots in downtown Bangkok early yesterday, including attempted murder. Police say the charge was filed because a ballistic examination showed some of the gunshots were aimed at people opposite the suspect’s position. Other charges include carrying gun without a permit, discharging a firearm in a…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: WHO fights the ‘infodemic’, recession fears in Europe
A total number of 67,100 cases of Coronavirus (covid-2019) have now been confirmed worldwide, along with 1,526 deaths reported and 8,193 people recovered. The number of reported full recoveries is now over 5 times the rate of reported deaths, and continues to rise each day. The infodemic… On top of the spread of the virus, there has been increasingly dangerous…
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Families of 27 Korat victims to get 1 million baht
Families of 27 of the people killed in last Saturday’s mass shooting in Nakhon Ratchasima will receive a million baht in compensation from the government. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who chairs a committee to decide such settlements, said today that no money has been earmarked for two of the fatalities, over which there is a “dispute,” or for the…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: Vietnam village quarantined, worldwide cases reach 64,448
Latest coronavirus stats Infected patients worldwide reaches 64,448 whilst the death toll from the coronavirus has plateaued in the past 24 hours to 1,383. According to the Chinese National Health Commission, the current number of infections of coronavirus (aka. covid-2019) in mainland China is 63,8591, up some 5,000 from the day before. 7,101 patients have now full recovered. There are at…
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Bangkok “auntie” arrested for robbing cabbies
An “auntie” in Bangkok has finally been arrested after stealing money from numerous taxi drivers. Police arrested 55 year old Nongnuch Pimsuan of Kanchanaburi province at around 5pm yesterday. The suspect had an arrest warrant in her name from the Taling Chan Court. Police were notified as early as February 4 that a passenger had stolen 1,400 baht from a…
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MS Westerdam passengers, all cleared, alight in Cambodia
Passengers of the MS Westerdam, the cruise ship that spent two weeks at sea after being turned away by five countries including Thailand, over fears that someone aboard might have the COVID-19 coronavirus, finally disembarked today. The ship, carrying 1,455 passengers and 802 crew, docked in the Cambodian port town of Sihanoukville yesterday. It anchored offshore in the morning to…
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Slurpees, phonecard top-ups, snacks and now you can do your washing
…well, in one store anyway. Maybe more to come. You can pay your bills there, buy a Slurpee, get a good coffee and, now, do you washing too. A Bangkok 7-Eleven store has rolled out its own laundry service, not that anyone is going to be actually doing your laundry, but they will provide the washing machines. The laundromat at a…
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Chonburi immigration introduces “smart car” to check foreigners’ visa status
Overstayers and ne’er-do-wells beware: Thai media are reporting that Chon Buri immigration sent a brand new BMW “smart car” into action, with state of the art electronics onboard, to verify the status of foreigners in and around Pattaya. By “smart’ it’s basically some Pattaya cops riding around in an expensive car with a laptop. We presume that if the car…
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Bangkok cross-border surrogacy gang busted
Two Chinese nationals, a man and a woman, have been arrested after coordinated raids on illegal assisted-reproduction clinics in and around Bangkok. The pair are suspected of involvement in a major cross-border surrogacy racket. Police found at least seven Thai surrogate mothers in the raids. In a raid on a house in Lat Phrao district, police found seven pregnant Thai…
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Thai Embassy in Beijing ordered to care for 3 locals stranded in Wuhan
Thailand’s Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai yesterday ordered the Thai embassy in Beijing to take care of three Thai citizens stranded in Wuhan, the epicentre of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. The three didn’t join the 138 Thai evacuees who returned on February 4. One of the three is a woman who overstayed her visa and has yet to pay the fine.…
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Terminal 21 Korat, scene of mass shooting, reopens with prayers
Four days after the mass shooting that left dead and more than 50 injured, the public turned out this morning to reopen Terminal 21 shopping centre in Nakhon Ratchasima, the scene of the carnage, in hope of raising spirits. Terminal 21 in Korat reopened its doors today to thousands of people who came to pray and make offerings to more…
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Coronavirus UPDATE – sharp increase in cases, UK officials battle to contain a new threat
There’s been a sharp spike in new cases of coronavirus, principally in the central Chinese province of Hubei. There are now 60,373 world cases, 59,805 in China. 1,369 people have died and over 6,000 recovered. 242 new deaths were recorded yesterday, the deadliest day since the start of the outbreak. So what’s behind the big rise? It’s not actually a spike…
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Khon Kaen monk arrested, disrobed after bomb threat
A monk in the northeastern province of Khon Khaen has been arrested and disrobed after giving false information to police. The monk called the 191 emergency line and stated that a bomb had been placed inside a hotel. He later claimed that the information was to make officers “more aware.” Police arrested 30 year old monk “Santisuk” in the province’s…
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Phuket’s cruise ship arrivals to be screened for coronavirus
Over 4,000 tourists and ship crews arrive in Phuket today, on two separate cruise liners, one from Hong Kong and one out of Singapore. There has been a sudden surge of interest in arriving cruise ships after the cruise boat still anchored in Yokohama Bay with a cluster The Seabourn Ovation arrived from Hong Kong just after 7am this morning…
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From Star Trek to the Galaxy Z Flip phone – a new foldable comes to Thailand
The $1,500 Motorola RAZR flip phone, a sort of ‘smartphone’ version of its original 2004 market favourite, was twice the cost of an iPhone 11, looked cool but had a small battery and plastic screen. It was a throwback to the earlier design but with a foldable screen, the latest ‘thaeng’ in the smart-phone world. Now there’s the new Galaxy…
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Dead infant discovered in Pattaya
Police are investigating the death of a newborn boy after his body was found dumped in front of a house in Pattaya. Barking dogs alerted neighbors. Pattaya City Police were notified of the incident at 8pm yesterday. Police, rescue workers and reporters rushed to the scene to find the body of a male infant. Its umbilical cord was also found…
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“Forgotten tourists” enjoy Pattaya
Pattaya’s Chinese golden goose has officially flown the coop, and hotels are cheaper, traffic is better and maybe even the service has improved a bit. With China’s group travel ban to fight the spread of the coronavirus, Pattaya has the feel of low season even though the calendar says otherwise. But while business owners moan, ask any of the Indian,…
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Don’t blame the Thai army, blame the soldier – General Apirat
“The army chief offered his condolences to families of those killed and the injured and promised a career in the army if the victims’ children want to join the service.” The 32 year old gunman who shot 30 people dead during his Saturday afternoon shooting spree in Korat over the weekend, Jakrapanth Thomma, owned legally registered guns. He had five guns –…
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Third unidentified foreigner found dead in Pattaya
The body of an unidentified foreign man was found floating in Pattaya Bay yesterday with an 8 kilogram rock tied to his neck. Pattaya City Police were notified of the incident at 1pm. It is the third case of an unidentified foreigner’s death in a week in the resort town Police, divers and reporters rushed into the sea off Koh…
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UPDATE: 12 year old boy shoots friend dead in Kalasin
A thirteen year old boy is dead in the northeastern province of Kalasin, after being shot by a friend playing with his father’s gun. Police and medical services were called to a house in Nong Kung Sri district on Sunday morning after the boy was shot, local media report. Police say that three boys were playing when one boy, aged…
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Myanmar tourism increases a massive 40% in 2019
Myanmar has ranked highest among the world’s 20 quickest-growing travel destinations over the past 12 months. The report from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation. Vietnam and The Philippines are also regional winners over the past year that made it into the top 10 best performing emerging travel destinations. Myanmar Tourism Marketing, part of the Myanmar Tourism Federation, reports that…
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Korat Massacre – Did police use a drone to find the gunman?
A story from Germany’s Deutsche Welle news agency today reveals how tactical police were able to use a drone to trackdown the 32 year old gunman to a storage room at the back of a supermarket (scroll through to 1.30 in the YouTube story below to watch the drone footage). Although no one else appears to have reported this aspect of…
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You’re not welcome here! Thai Health Minister refuses request to berth in Thailand
The Holland-US “MS Westerdam” cruise ship has been refused docking permission at Laem Chabang Port in Chonburi, south east of Bangkok, after having been turned away by three other countries who were concerned about the spread of coronavirus. Referring to the company’s website, which stated that Thailand would allow the ship to dock at Laem Chabang Port last Thursday, Deputy…
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Slain policemen honoured in Royal ceremony
The two policemen who died ending the shooting rampage in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima were honourably received in a royally sponsored bathing ceremony in Bangkok yesterday. The bodies of Captain Trakul Tha-asa and Senior Sergeant Major Petcharat Kamchadpai, both 35 years old, were transported on ceremonial trucks from Nakhon Ratchasima to Bangkok, their coffins covered with the national…
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