News
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 Top 10 reasons for expats to get a comprehensive health insurance in Thailand
Moving to Thailand offers a prospect full of excitement and adventure, but in the same vein, if any injuries were to occur (and god forbid it does), the local healthcare system can be confusing at first glance for many expats...
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UPDATE: Search for Filipinos lost off Freedom Beach, Phuket
PHOTO: siangtai.com Officials are still trying to push on with a search for two Filipino tourists who were washed out to sea by waves at Freedom Beach in Phuket last night around 5pm. With nearly 24 hours having passed since the pair’s disappearances grave fears are now held for their survival. Conditions have been quite rough and squally for most…
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Fire destroys 12 shops in Patong market
PHOTOS: Siam Rath A fire at a market in Patong early this morning has caused damages estimated at 1 billion baht in value. Five fire trucks raced to the scene at the SB Plaza on Rat-U-Thit road at about 2am. It took firefighters an hour to bring the fire under control. 12 shops were destroyed. No one was injured in the…
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TMD issues a new weather warning for tropical storm Danas
The Thai Meteorological Department has issued another warning about tropical storm Danas since saying it’s on the move, from the Philippines’ Luzon, north and north-eastward into the East China Sea. The storm appears headed for Taiwan and likely to dump plenty of heavy rain on the way. The storm is ‘sucking’ in moisture from the Indian Ocean across southern Thailand,…
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Aussie tourists ripped off 1,500 baht each for a van ride in Phuket
A Facebook post in the “Phuket People Voice“ page has published the photos of two Australians who reported to Kaon police after being ‘ripped off’ in a van ride from the airport to their Kata hotel. A policeman at Karon says… “An Australian citizen came to report the situation in Karon saying that they ‘called’ (hired) a van from Phuket Airport…
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Search continues off Phuket’s Freedom Beach for two missing Filipinos
PHOTOS: Workpoint News Phuket rescue volunteers are continuing their search for 2 Filipinos washed off their feet in high waves at Freedom Beach, south of Patong Beach, in Phuket. The two people have been identified as 29 and 40 year old men. The went missing late yesterday afternoon. Kusoldham Phuket Rescue Foundation received a report concerning the two missing Filipino…
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Bangkok drug gang nabbed for selling Pattaya tourists illicit drugs
PHOTO: 77kaoded Three men have been arrested in Pattaya and 833 grams of crystal methamphetamine (ice) and 6,700 methamphetamine pills seized. Police also seized a car and two motorcycles. Three Thai men – 23, 29 and 35 year old – were arrested and charged with possession of Category One drugs with intent to sell. Daily News reports that the three man gang was…
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BMW speeds away as policeman tries to hang on at Bangkok toll booth
SCREENSHOTS: Sanook A policeman has ended up in hospital after being dragged along by a white BMW after trying to stop the car. CCTV footage from the Thanyaburi Toll booth on a Bangkok ring road shows the BMW driving away from the booth, with the policeman clinging on to the roof. The car veered to the left suddenly to ‘shake off’…
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Residential projects launched in June up, but sale 15% lower than May
As many as 47 new residential projects were launched in Bangkok and its suburbs last month (June), 16 more than in May. This from the Agency for Real-Estate Affairs. The projects combine 13,943 units worth a total of 57.25 billion baht, with per-unit prices averaging at 4.1 million baht, the survey added. The sale of new projects launched in June…
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Second hand car dealers arrested over 5 year old scam in Chiang Mai
PHOTO: Daily News Police in Chiang Mai say they have arrested a married couple involved in an alleged scam of 52 people in the northern Thailand city. The incidents were reported to police five years ago. 55 year old Anucha “Teng” Dorkmaingam and his 39 year old wife Warawee or Suthicha Suphan were arrested at a Chiang Mai restaurant. Daily…
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Van, baht bus and taxi drivers fight for passengers at Pattaya pier
PHOTO & VIDEO: Ruk Siam News Pattaya taxi, van and baht bus drivers, authorised and unauthorised, are fighting over tourists at the Bali Hai pier. Ruk Siam News says that efforts by the Pattaya City Council to sort out the issue at the south Pattaya port have been ineffectual and that there are often more drivers than passengers vying for…
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Number of passengers and flights drop slightly at 28 secondary Thai airports
28 airports under the Thai Airports Department have dropped traffic by 1% compared to the same time last year. The airports under the Airports Department don’t cover the largest airports at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and Chiang Rai. Some 14.4 million passengers were recorded at the 28 airports under the department from October 2018 to June…
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Krabi skinny-dippers fined 500 baht, claimed they were ‘bored’
Police marched six naked tourists, aged between 17-20 years old, back on to the Ao Nang beach to get dressed after being caught on a midnight skinny-dip. A local, who didn’t appreciate their nudist antics, informed the local police late on Monday night about the groups’ late night seaside frolicking. metro.co.uk reports that the group included five women and one…
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“Probably the best pork spare ribs in the world” – Naughty Nuri’s Patong
Naughty Nuri’s Phuket, also known as Naughty Nuri’s In The Forest in Patong, was the first restaurant from the iconic Indonesian chain to open its doors in Thailand. The indoor/outdoor venue can easily accommodate more than 500 diners in an alfresco setting. Their signature dish is the BBQ Spare Ribs – “probably the best spare ribs in the world” –…
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Singapore’s exports crash in June, the biggest drop in 6 years
Edited from The Straits Times – Asian News Network Singapore’s exports have crashed by double digits for the fourth straight month. June’s figures show shipments in the key electronics sector sinking by 32%. This is the biggest year-on-year drop since shipments sank 33.2 per cent in February 2013. It is also sharply below analysts’ expectations of a 9.6% plunge, according…
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Roadside bomb in Narathiwat critically injures three rangers
PHOTO: Waedao Harai Three paramilitary rangers have been injured in Narathiwat following the explosion of a bomb in a roadside stall this morning just after 8am. Security officials say the bomb had been detonated remotely as the three rangers were patrolling past the stall. The stall was under construction at the time. The bomb was encased in a cooking gas…
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One body recovered, search continues for another after collapse of pavilion in Samut Songkhram
PHOTOS: Thai PBS After more than 17 hours of searching, rescue workers have now recovered a female body from the collapsed pavilion that slid into the Mae Klong River in Thailand’s central province of Samut Songkram, west of Bangkok. The search continues for one other missing person believed to still be trapped under the submerged wreckage of the building. The…
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Future Forward’s Thanathorn on European and US lecture tour – VIDEO
The Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit spoke with American NBC’s Andrea Mitchell about his hopes and aspirations for Thailand’s future. He also addresses his own current situation in regards to charges he is facing over alleged media shareholdings. Thanathorn is currently suspended from participating in the new Thai parliament as an MP as he awaits the Constitutional Court to hear…
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Phuket’s Banyan Tree celebrates 25 year anniversary with new Serenity Villas
2019 is a year of celebration for Banyan Tree Phuket, with the resort offering two brand new villa categories, as part of its year-long 25th anniversary celebration. In September this year, the iconic Banyan Tree Phuket, the flagship property for Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, will celebrate 25 years as Phuket’s premier holiday resort. The festivities will include the release…
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Gary Stevens takes up head coaching at Black Mountain Hua Hin football academy
(contact details below) A former England, Totttenham and Brighton football player, Gary Stevens, will start coaching at the Black Mountain Hua Hin Football Academy this September. Gary is a 1984 UEFA Cup winner and 1986 World Cup veteran. He made 204 appearances for Tottenham between 1983 and 1990 but is excited to pursue a challenge outside of the professional game. He managed…
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Thai man electrocuted whilst laying on his bed in Pattaya
PHOTO: Thai Rath A man has died in Nong Prue, the suburbs behind Pattaya city, as a result of being electrocuted whilst his phone was charging next to his bed. Relatives believe the incident happened early sometime on Sunday. Police were called to an address in Soi 15, Thing Klom – Tan Man, Nong Prue on Sunday evening. 21 year old…
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PTT’s expansion plans in Myanmar
PTT Oil and Retail Business (PTTOR) is poised to invest in the Burmese retail market and the construction of a tank depot for oil and liquefied petroleum gas as well as related facilities in Myanmar. The Thai petro-chemical company’s chairman Attapol Rerkpiboon says the first gas station will open in Q4 this year. It recently signed agreements with the subsidiaries…
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Old food pavilion collapses dumping over 20 people into Samut Songkram river
PHOTO: Public Relations Department – Samut Songkhram Rescue workers are scouring the Mae Klong River in Samut Songkram, west of Bangkok, for four missing people after an old ferryboat shelter on a river bank collapsed yesterday, plunging more than two dozen people into the water. One person has died and at least 19 others injured when the riverside food pavilion…
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King urges new cabinet to solve problems for Thailand’s happiness and security
PHOTO: Thai PBS “In the process of doing a job, there will be problems, and that it was normal that they must be solved at the core so the administration of the country can proceed smoothly.” – HM The King His Majesty has offered moral support to PM Prayut and the newly sworn-in cabinet ministers, urging them to perform their…
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Thai Airways close to sale of used planes to US company
PHOTO: Thai Airways Airbus A340, Airplane Pictures Thai Airways International President Sumeth Damrongchaitham reports that the national airline expects to sign an agreement this month with a US logistics firm on the sale of eight used A340 aircraft worth between 4-4.5 billion baht. The company is in the process of examining the contract before closing the sale deal of Thai Airways…
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Over a million methamphetamine pills seized in Lampang sting
Original story by Pratheep Nanthaparp And man has been arrested and 1,104,000 methamphetamine pills confiscated following a sting Lampang’s main city area in northern Thailand last Saturday (July 13). Provincial Police Region 5 met with the media yesterday morning (Monday) to explain how undercover police purchased a small quantity of pills from 34 year old Sarayuth Rattanadilok. It was agreed…
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Dengue alert declared in The Philippines
PHOTO: Philippine Star Dengue cases have doubled in Thailand this year. And in The Philippines a similar situation is unfolding. Health authorities in The Philippines are declaring a national dengue alert after a spike in cases leaving more than 450 people dead since the start of 2019. Around 100,000 dengue cases were reported across The Philippines in the first six…
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Document agent nabbed in Pattaya for helping foreigners get driving licences
PHOTO: Naew Na A Thai female has been arrested for helping foreigners obtain Thai driving licences illegally and register their vehicles with fake stamps and documentation. Naew Na report that 44 year old Wikanda “Vicki” Munghangern was arrested in a sting outside her office which is, conveniently, located near the Bang Lamung Department of Land Transport. Polcie allege the woman…
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Thai couple walk away from dramatic road crash
PHOTOS: Sanook A blue sedan has split in two in a dramatic incident on a road leading to the Ngam Wong Wan Road in Bangkok’s northern suburbs. Sanook reports that a Thai couple have escaped totally unscathed after the man admitted to police that he lost control after hitting a rock and slammed into roadside barriers. The 29 year old…
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Koh Phi Phi dugong died from a gastrointestinal infection
PHOTO: Department of National Parks, Wildlife & Plant Conservation Another dead dugong was discovered over the weekend off Koh Phi Phi in Krabi province. Department of Marine and Coastal Resources veterinarians have determined the death was caused by stomach infection and chronic inflammation of the intestines. Another was found off the coast of Trang on the weekend as well. The…
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Weather warning for southern and eastern Thailand
Five day forecasts for Phuket, Pattaya and Koh Samui below The Thai Meteorological Department has issued a weather warning to alert people to approaching heavy rains and strong winds in the South. The TMD predicts more rain from from today up to July 21 in the Southern and Eastern regions due to a tropical depression approaching westward from the Pacific,…
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