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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Thailand cuts rubber exports in a four month moratorium
Thailand is cutting rubber exports by 126,000 tonnes next week for a four month moratorium. This is a delay in implementing the supply cut agreement with two other regional producers, according to the Rubber Authority of Thailand. Originally it was agreed that Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia would cut exports back on April 1, a date agreed by the International Tripartite…
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BioThai Foundation says companies growing hemp commercially will create monopoly:
“…as of now, only official agencies are allowed to grow hemp in the tribe-development zones in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan, Tak, Mae Hong Son and Phetchabun provinces.” The Thai government’s plan to let privately-owned companies grow hemp commercially is progressing as part of a three year trial. But, BioThai Foundation says that giving specific companies the right to plant hemp…
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Rubbish on Chon Buri beaches cleared after social media complaints
PHOTO: DMCR First there was a beach on Koh Phi Phi, then a dirty canal in Bang Tao, Phuket. Now, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) has cleared up rubbish on an island beach off Pattaya beaches in Chon Buri. Photos were posted in the ‘Pattaya Watchdog’ Facebook page on May 14 with a message reading, “Some business…
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Bangkok’s Klong Lord gets a make over
The new Klong Lord now boasts clear water, not the black grimy mess as in the past. The klong has now had a complete make-over and been rehabilitated and re-landscaped. The Bangkok Metropolitan and Administration (BMA) is upgrading the canal and says it will develop it into one of Bangkok’s important tourist attractions, recalling its identity during the reign of…
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Three dead, two injured as truck collides with motorbike in Krabi
PHOTOS: อาสากู้ภัย 3482 กู้ชีพปลายพระยา / คนข่าว กระบี่ Three people have died while another two people have been injured after a pickup truck collided with a motorbike in Krabi yesterday. Krabi emergency responders headed to the scene of an accident on Southern Seaboard Road (No 44) southbound in Krabi yesterday afternoon. They found two injured males – 32 year old Nattanai…
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Nationwide police crackdown on student gang violence
The Royal Thai Police say they are cracking down on student gangs. They say they will be enforcing existing laws and focussing on problem cells. They will also prosecute parents for the behaviour of their children. Thai Rath reports that Pol Lt-Gen Phromthorn Phak-at from Royal Thai Police says that the police will be taking a “no nonsense” approach to student…
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Chiang Mai songthaews and tuk-tuk drivers complain about Grab
Drivers of red public songthaews and tuk-tuks have submitted a petition to Chiang Mai’s provincial governor complaining about the Grab ride-hailing App. The Grab service is offered on a very intuitive smartphone app and provided by normal drivers. The petition said the Grab App had caused their income to drop by more than 50%. They say the service is illegal and…
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Black water flows into the sea at Koh Phi Phi
Wastewater was flowing into the sea at Koh Phi Phi in Krabi as business operators have been caught releasing untreated water and waste into the sea. The issue has gone viral in social media with local officials scrambling to respond. Black water was photographed lapping the shores of Loh Dalam beach on Koh Phi Phi five days ago. One of…
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15 year old girl arrested for trying to bury her baby alive
A 15 year old girl is now in protective custody in Nakhon Ratchasima, north-east of Bangkok, just one day after her newly-born baby boy survived being buried alive in a local field. A villager found the baby in a cassava plantation about one kilometre from Ban Nong Kham village in Tambon Thalad on Wednesday. The infant was taken to the…
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Register your hotel within 30 days – Hua Hin unlicensed premises warned
FILE PHOTO 170 illegal hotel and resort operators in Hua Hin have been warned to register and obtain Hotel licences within a month or they will face jail or a fine. The Hua Hin district chief, Thanon Phanpipas, says the operators of unlicensed hotels and resorts must register within a month from May 16 or they would face a maximum…
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Police and passenger die in Phitsanulok collision
PHOTOS: Khaosod A policeman travelling in a highway police sedan, and a passenger in a pickup truck, have died at the scene after a crash in Phitsanulok this morning. The incident happened on Kokmaidang – Noean Maprang Road in Wangthong. Phitsanulok Provincial Police Deputy Commander, driving the highway police car, died at the scene after he sustained critical injuries. The…
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Compromise could save expressway authority from paying exorbitant compensation
PHOTO: YouTube Thailand’s Expressway Authority (EXAT) board has agreed to extend the concession period of NECL, a subsidiary of Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company (BEM), to operate two expressways for an additional thirty years. The hope is they can avert a legal battle which could eventually result in the government authority being ordered to pay as much as 130 billion…
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Weather warnings out for parts of the country
The annual monsoon is here. Bangkok, along with 55 other provinces in Thailand, have thunderstorms forecast over the next 24 hours. The Thai Meteorological Department have issued the warnings this morning. Storms are predicted in the central and northern regions and waves in the Andaman Sea forecast up to two metres, according to the TMD. Seree Supratid of Rangsit University’s…
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Doctors’ son arrested over break-ins around Bangkok and Pattaya
PHOTO: TNA A Thai man has been arrested for breaking into and stealing from a car in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi. The crime Suppression Division say the incident happened last December. 37 year old Phop Euanjit denies the charges saying he was just the motorcycle rider after the theft when 7,000 baht of valuables were taken. The incriminating motorcycle was found at…
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Co-ordinated pipe bomb attacks in Yala injure five
FILE PHOTO Five Army troops and rangers have been injured after southern insurgents threw pipe bombs. Security officials say the incidents happened at three locations in Yala in what appears to be a co-ordinated incident. The commander of Muang Yala police station, Pol Col Narawee Binwaearong, says two insurgents on a motorcycle rode to a security checkpoint on the Siroros…
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Compulsory health insurance for foreigners – will it affect you?
PHOTO: Over 50 and reading about compulsory health insurance? Not sure which way to turn? Foreigners aged over 50 applying for a particular visa type now need mandatory health insurance. The new requirements, which were approved by Cabinet in April and announced by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), says that people applying or renewing (or rather re-applying for) a…
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Air Asia resumes flights from Phuket to Jakarta
AirAsia Indonesia says they will resume direct flights between Phuket and Jakarta on the second of July this year. Flights will be available three times a week. For AirAsia, the move marks a return of the route which had been flown for a number of years in the past. “Currently the traveling trend continues to increase especially in the youth market, hence…
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Officials investigate complaints of elephants on Phuket beach
Officials have investigated social media complaints about elephants in the water and the taking of photos with tourists on Tri Trang beach. Officials haven’t arrested anyone at this stage. The issue about elephants playing in the shallows with tourist went viral in local social media as netizens made comments ranging from the “elephants are damaging the coral” and the “elephants…
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Boeing knew about problems with 737 Max 8 jets before second crash
PHOTO: American Airlines They knew because plenty of pilots told them, on tape. In the months between the two Boeing 737 Max airplane crashes, pilots from American Airlines confronted a Boeing official about the controversial MCAS computerised anti-stall system that preliminary reports have now implicated in both deadly wrecks. The audio of the meeting has been obtained by the US’…
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Petition to restore dignity of Thailand’s only convicted cannibal
In a dark corner of the Siriraj hospital, in the rather bizarre medical museum (nicknamed the Museum of Death) is the mummified body of Si Quey sae Oeng, Thailand’s only convicted cannibal. Now more than 10,000 people have signed a change.org petition for the removal of the gruesome display in order to restore his human dignity. The petition follows up a…
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One dead, one injured after trailer truck runs red light in Chachoengsao – VIDEO
PHOTOS: ศูนย์วิทยุกู้ภัยฉะเชิงเทรา One person has died while another has sustained an injury after a trailer truck ran through a red light and wiped out some motorbikes in Chachengsao. Chachengsao Police were notified of the incident at an intersection in Bang Phra, Chachoengsao yesterday afternoon. Emergency responders arrived to find the body of a woman who died at the scene. An…
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Export growth expected to be the lowest in four years
Export growth for Thailand this year is is now being pegged at less that 1%, the lowest growth in four years. Mr. Ath Pisarnwanich, director of the International Trade Study Centre at the University of Thai Chambers of Commerce is saying the low growth is a result of both the escalating US-China trade war and the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement. The…
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Head-on collision kills five, injures three in Khon Kaen
Five football fans, travelling to watch the Thai Port Football Club, have been killed when their rented van crashed head-on with a water tanker in Khon Kaen this morning. Police said the incident occurred on the Chumphae Si Chomphu road in Moo 6 village in Tambon Wang Hin Lad. Three others people were injured in the collision. Four men died…
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Suspects arrested after breaking into Irish man’s house in Chon Buri
PHOTOS: Pattaya Message Police have arrested three suspects after they broke into an Irish man’s house in Chon Buri and stealing a number of items. Police have arrested 28 year old Wasan Panprem, 37 year old Rachata Kumsart and 27 year old Napaphon Pradap. They have been charged with theft. Police seized 56,760 baht cash, two gold necklaces, three gold…
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Dozens of Rohingya saved from being trafficked to Malaysia
PHOTO: Desperate Rohingyas try to flee Bangladesh on flimsy rafts – UNHCR Bangladeshi police say that they’ve stopped dozens of Rohingya Muslims from being trafficked to Malaysia by boat. Most of the ‘boat people’ were women according to the Reuters report. Human traffickers had convinced at least 69 Rohingya to leave the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. The camps had…
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Motorbike driver dies after smashing into trailer truck in Samut Prakan
PHOTOS: นคร75/อาสาฯมูลนิธิร่วมกตัญญู เขตบางปู A motorbike driver has died after colliding with the rear of a trailer in Samut Prakan, south of Bangkok, last night. Bangpu Police were notified of the incident on Sukhumwit Road in Bangpu Mai at 10pm. Police and rescue workers arrived to find a body of the motorbike driver, 33 year old Amnart chockbandit, at the scene.…
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Pattaya prison releases 243 inmates on royal pardons
PHOTO: Pattaya Mail 243 inmates have been released from the Pattaya Remind Prison on royal pardons granted by HM the King as part of his coronation celebrations. Warden of the prison, Watcharaw Wachiralerphan oversaw the release of 181 men and 62 women prisoners on Monday. Each convict wore yellow shirts with “Long Live the King” logos on the front. The…
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Koh Pha Ngan rapist participates in reenactment of rape of Norwegian tourist
PHOTOS: ThaiRath Police have held a bizarre reenactment of the rape of a 26 year old Norwegian tourist after a 33 year old Thai man was arrested for the crime soon after it was reported on Sunday night on Koh Pha Ngan. Rewat “Moss” Hansuwan says had offered the victim to help her find her lost wallet but ended up…
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HM the King will preside over opening of Parliament on May 24
Some political water is yet to pass under the bridge with no clear coalition coming together at this stage to form Thailand’s next parliament. Meanwhile it’s been announced that HM the King will preside over the opening of the new parliament on May 24, exactly two months after the general election. A Royal Decree was issued for parliament to convene starting…
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Search continues for missing British tourist after falling overboard off Samui
Royal Thai Navy officers, divers and local volunteer organisations are continuing their search for a 40 year old British man who went missing on Monday off Koh Samui. Officials on the Gulf island say that the search for a missing British tourist who fell from a speedboat while out on an island-hopping trip is continuing. The tourist was not named but…
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