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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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DSI releases more information about major child pornography seizure at modelling agency
More information has been released about the major seizure of child pornography at a Pathum Thani modelling agency. The Department of Special Investigation, or DSI, held a press conference today and said they arrested 28 year old Danudet “Nene” Saengkaew, who ran “Nene Modeling.” Last week, police raided the modelling agency, which was based in a neighbourhood in Pathum Thani’s Khlong Luang district,…
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Thailand News Today | Pyramid scammer arrested, first vaccines arrive next week | February 16
A 45 year old Thai woman, known as Jay Phet, has been arrested, along with several Burmese accomplices and nearly 400 of the trafficked migrants. She was arrested for acquiring illegal Burmese migrants, getting them over the border… undetected, and then sending them to the Central Seafood Markets along the coast of Samut Sakhon province, just south west of Bangkok.…
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Covid lockdown in Pathum Thani district, just north of Bangkok | VIDEO
Whilst migrant dormitories and parts of the seafood markets in Samut Sakhon remain either in complete lockdown or as restricted areas, and the affected gambling dens in Rayong have magically disappeared, the focus of the current Covid outbreak has now turned to Pathum Thani… just north of Bangkok and probably better known as the province that hosts the Buddhist Dhammakaya…
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Thailand becomes more cannabis-friendly after leaves removed from narcotics list
With cannabis leaves now off Thailand’s narcotics list, the once taboo and criminalised plant is making its way into daily life in Thailand. Since the government decision in December to remove certain parts of the cannabis plant from the narcotics list, Thailand’s first cannabis cafe “Taste of Ganja” opened in Prachin Buri and another called “420 Cannabis Bar” just opened…
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Thai government says tourism-dependent locations will get high priority in vaccination drive
The government’s Covid-19 task force says places like Phuket and Pattaya, which are heavily reliant on international tourism, will be considered “high priority” for vaccination. The Pattaya News reports that Apisamai Srirangsan, assistant spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, made the announcement at a press conference yesterday. The southern island of Phuket – along with a number of…
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Leading real estate consultancy says 2021 not looking good for Phuket hotels
An independent real estate consultancy is predicting a bleak year for those involved in the hotel industry on the southern island of Phuket. According to a Nation Thailand report, Carlos Martinez from Knight Frank Thailand says foreign arrivals in Phuket have plummeted by 80%, from over 5.3 million in 2019 to just 1 million in 2020. Hotel occupancy rates on…
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Quarantine may be increased to 21 days for returnees arriving from Africa
The Thai government may increase mandatory quarantine to 21 days for those returning from Africa, as efforts continue to stop the spread of the South African variant of the virus. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says the B1351 variant, which first surfaced in South Africa late last year, is faster spreading and could lead to an increase in the…
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Court of Appeal refuses bail request for 4 pro-democracy activists
4 detained protest leaders, from the pro-democracy Ratsadon group, have had their bail request rejected by the Court of Appeal. Parit Chiwarak, Anon Nampa, Patipan Luecha, and Somyot Phrueksakasemsuk have all been declared a flight risk, with the court also citing their violation of the lèse majesté law as a further reason to keep them in custody. They previously had…
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Thai woman arrested for allegedly running labour trafficking operation linked to Samut Sakhon market
Police arrested a 45 year old Thai woman for allegedly running the country’s largest illegal labour trafficking operation and bringing undocumented Burmese migrants into Thailand to work at the Central Shrimp Market in Samut Sakhon, the epicentre of the new wave of Covid-19 infections. Ratree “Jay Phet” Vechsuwan was arrested on Friday. Police say she trafficked migrant workers for more…
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Thailand News Today | Thai police clash with weekend protesters | February 15
The hashtag #policebeatingmedic continues to trend on local Twitter media as the Metropolitan Police Bureau commissioner defends his officer’s actions. Thais are universally condemning the heavy-handed police action at the protest on Saturday after officers, dressed in riot gear, beat a medical volunteer outside the Supreme Court near Sanam Luang. The man has been confirmed as a nurse/medical volunteer in…
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More than 600,000 migrants registered with Labour Ministry over the past month
More than 600,000 migrant workers have registered with the Thailand Labour Ministry over the past month. Late last year, the Thai government announced migrants from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar would be granted a 2-year work permit and health insurance. Registration with the ministry’s Department of Employment was open from January 15 until February 13. The move follows the Covid-19 outbreak…
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Surge of violence over the weekend in Thailand’s deep south
Multiple shootings and attacks on rangers and police officers were reported over the weekend in Narathiwat, a province in Thailand’s deep south bordering Malaysia that has been plagued with violence for years due to the religious separatist insurgency. In one recent report, the Bangkok Post said the attacks are part of a “fresh wave of southern violence.” Last night, a…
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CCSA Update: 143 new Covid-19 cases and 2 deaths
143 new Covid-19 cases and 2 deaths were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand’s coronavirus death toll is now at 82. Since the start of the pandemic last year, Thailand has reported a total of 24,714 Covid-19 infections. There are 1,749 active Covid-19 cases. A 62 year old Thai man from Ubon Ratchathani died…
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Police search for “ninja thief” in Nonthaburi neighbourhood
Police are searching for a suspect who many are calling a “ninja thief” after a series of robberies in a neighbourhood in Nonthaburi, just outside Bangkok, where a robber entered the homes through top floor windows. Residents have put up posters in the neighbourhood with an image of a ninja, warning others about the robberies. So far, 10 robberies were…
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Thai returnee tests positive for South Africa Covid-19 variant
A Thai national, who is in quarantine after returning from Tanzania, is infected with the South Africa strain of Covid-19, a variant of the virus known to be more contagious and believed to be resistant to some vaccines. The Department of Disease Control director general Opas Karnkawinpong says health officials are closely monitoring the situation and a rapid screening process…
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Thais speak out against police violence after riot officers beat volunteer medic
Many Thais are condemning police after officers in riot gear beat a medical volunteer at Saturday’s protest outside the Supreme Court near Sanam Luang in Bangkok. Photos circulated on Twitter of the man on the ground surrounded by police in riot gear. The man was wearing a bright yellow medic vest (confirmed). Many used a hashtag which translates to #policebeatingmedic.…
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Thailand News Today | Week In Review | February 14
Thailand News Today covers five days of the news week, except this week which was the Chinese New Year on Friday. Now we have a weekend edition which goes over the biggest, or best stories, from the past week. Out every Saturday afternoon, catch up with Jett and Tim’s major Thai news stories from Thailand News Today. Welcome to the…
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Police raid Bangkok bar, 13 people arrested for allegedly violating Emergency Decree
Police in Bangkok arrested 13 people at a rooftop bar in the Phra Khanong area. The bar staff allegedly served alcohol to customers, violating the city’s ban on booze sales at restaurants which was put in place to limit gatherings and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Under the emergency regulations in Bangkok, bars and nightclubs are ordered to close…
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More than 20 police injured in clash with protesters in Bangkok
More than 20 police officers were injured in a clash with protesters last night at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument, according to the police’s deputy spokesperson. Youth activists gathered to rally against Thailand’s use of the lèse majesté law which prohibits insults against the royal family under Section 112 of the Criminal Code. Numerous activists calling on monarchy reform have faced lese majeste…
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Economy expert says Phuket’s income per capita could soon fall below poverty line
A Phuket tourism economy expert says Phuket’s income per capita could soon fall below the provincial poverty line if something isn’t done to increase revenue. Assistant Professor Chayanon Phucharoen, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Prince of Songkla University Phuket campus, says the news is based off a report by the university. In it, the…
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Phuket says snakes caught in homes will be taken off island
Phuket authorities are saying that large snakes found in homes will now be taken off the island after residents voiced fears of the snakes re-entering their living quarters. Pongchart Chouehorm, Director of the Khao Phra Thaew Natural and Wildlife Education Centre in Thalang says that the large snakes, including king cobras, will be handed over to a wildlife reserve in…
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Thai and Chinese officials come together for Chinese New Year
Thai and Chinese officials are coming together to celebrate the Chinese New Year by marking 46 years of diplomatic relations with each other. The ceremony in Bangkok was led by Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports and China’s Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to Thailand. The ceremony also included other high-ranking government officials who…
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126 new cases, 116 local transmissions-Covid-19 Update
Thailand is reporting 126 new cases of Covid-19 today over the last 24 hours with 116 of those cases being locally-transmitted. The death toll remains unchanged at 80 deaths since the pandemic began. Of the 116 locally-transmitted cases, 37 were found by testing at medical facilities and 79 were found by proactive testing. Most of the cases found through proactive…
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QAnon, plandemics and sheeple – making sense of the Covid conspiracy-speak
OPINION Whilst many of us have been finding ways to cope with lockdowns and restrictions related to Covid-19, or trying to hang on to jobs and keep our family safe, others have used their spare time to indulge in an elaborate alternate universe of plandemics, sheeple and evil 5G. Bill Gates is apparently the devil in human form and ‘Q’…
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12 year old Chon Buri girl finds king cobra in her home
A 12 year old girl is safe after finding a king cobra in her home in the eastern province of Chon Buri. The unnamed girl told rescue workers that she was doing laundry at the back of her house in the Ban Bueang district. When she entered another room in the house, she discovered the king cobra and notified her…
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Domestic air passenger numbers double those of January
Passenger numbers on domestic flights within Thailand have doubled within a month, rising from 4,000 in January to over 10,000 this month. Having nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels, domestic travel plummeted once more when Covid-19 resurfaced late last year. Apirat Chaiwongnoi from the Department of Airports says 15 of Thailand’s 29 airports are now operating domestic flights, with more expected…
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Samut Sakhon to re-open 22 fresh markets from Monday
The central province of Samut Sakhon, where the Covid-19 virus first re-surfaced in December, is to re-open 22 wet markets from Monday. However, the seafood market where the outbreak began is not one of them, and it is not yet known when that might re-open. The 22 markets have been closed since December 19 as a result of the virus…
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Samui tourism operators push for faster vaccination programme
Tourism operators on the island of Samui are calling for the national vaccine rollout to be accelerated, in a bid to re-start international tourism by the third quarter of 2021. Ratchaporn Poolsawadee from the Tourism Association of Koh Samui says domestic tourism alone cannot support the sector and it won’t recover without a vaccination programme. He adds that despite the…
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175 new cases of Covid-19, 167 local- Covid Update
Thailand is reporting 175 new cases of Covid-19 today with 167 of those cases being locally-transmitted. Of those local infections, 120 were found via pro-active testing and 47 were found through tests at medical facilities. The pro-active testing cases were mostly found in Samut Sakhon (95 cases) where the 2nd wave of the virus initially broke out. Such cases were…
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Thai government steps into the matchmaking game
Looking for a hot date? Don’t worry, the Thai government is stepping in the matchmaking game in case you haven’t found your soulmate. The Bureau of Reproductive Health is launching a campaign this week with the hopes of boosting Thailand’s birth rate. The bureau is hosting a singles’ meetup on May 14 with registration for the event opening up today.…
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