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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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70 year old grandma in Isaan Thailand arrested for growing one cannabis plant
A 70 year old woman from Khon Kaen in northeast Thailand spent Saturday night in a jail cell after she and her relative were arrested for growing one cannabis plant each. After 24 hours without freedom, they were granted bail of 10,000 baht each. The grandma told police she boils the leaves to make medicine to treat her illnesses. However,…
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UKRAINE UPDATES: Zelensky warns Italy of Putin’s end game; Russia could use nuclear weapons under ‘existential threat’
As Russia’s invasion of a sovereign European nation under false pretexts marks one month, here’s the latest headlines from the war in Ukraine…. • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Italian parliament via video call on Tuesday. He warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ultimate goal is to take Europe. He said that Putin’s aim is “to have influence and…
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Phuket governor presents campaign to create 10,000 new minimum-wage jobs
As Phuket struggles to pick up its disheveled tourism economy, provincial Governor Narong has a plan for recovery. In a meeting with local government agencies yesterday, Narong presented his plans on a whiteboard. He said the provincial government will work with local government organisations to create 10,000 vacancies. The vacancies, he said, would pay the minimum wage of 336 baht…
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Delivery staff finds 3-metre king cobra inside parcel box in Isaan Thailand
A 3-metre long king cobra – alive and likely agitated – was found in a package at a delivery company in Thailand’s Isaan region. Staff saw a cardboard box moving and could hear a hissing sound. They called a rescue team, who then opened the parcel and unzipped the black bag inside, releasing the long, venomous snake. The delivery company…
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Cabinet approves 500-million-baht budget for Paxlovid antiviral treatment
The Thai government has approved a budget of 500 million baht to purchase supplies of Pfizer’s antiviral treatment, Paxlovid. It’s understood the fund is part of the government’s 8.4-billion-baht pandemic budget. Deputy government spokesperson Traisulee Traisaranakul has confirmed budgetary approval for the procurement of Paxlovid. The Bangkok Post reports that most of the government’s 8.4-billion-baht Covid-19 budget – 7.7 billion…
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Not so fast: Thai epidemiologist questions plans to declare Covid-19 endemic by July
A leading epidemiologist has questioned Thailand’s rush to declare Covid-19 endemic as infections and deaths surge and the country remains under Level 4 alert. Dr Chakrarat Pittayawonganon, director of the Bureau of Epidemiology, is suggesting officials slow down a bit, as he cast doubt on the wisdom of trying to declare the virus endemic by July 1. Despite placing the…
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Survey shows no country in the world met WHO air quality criteria during 2021
A survey of air pollution data in 6,475 cities shows that not a single country met the World Health Organisation’s air quality standards in 2021. According to a Reuters report, smog even returned to pre-pandemic levels in some regions, after a brief respite during Covid-19. The data was collated by Swiss firm, IQAir, a pollution technology company that monitors air…
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Award winning Thai author and journalist dies
An award winning Thai author who fled Thailand in 2014 has passed away in France due to health reasons, according to his daughter. The author, Wat Wallayangkoon, wrote the novel Transitor Love Story, which was adapted into a film in 2001. The story is about a rural man who dreams of becoming a singer. Wat won a prestigious Thai award in…
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Recovery operation underway following fatal China Eastern crash
A recovery operation is underway in the mountains of Guangxi, China, where a China Eastern flight came down on Monday. All 132 passengers and crew are thought to have been killed in the crash, with the cause yet to be established. The Civil Aviation Administration of China says the flight crew did not respond to repeated attempts by air traffic…
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10.8 million baht found in dead abbot’s quarters, dean of monks says family has no right to the money
After 50 days of merit-making, Luang Phor Yen Satchitto’s minimalist hut was opened on Sunday by relatives who found over 10.6 million baht in cash under the bed. Relatives and locals estimate the figure should be nearer to 40 million and suspect a burglary has taken place, but forensic officers think otherwise. The cash was deposited into a joint account…
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Night shift employee at Pattaya guest house robbed while asleep at reception desk
An employee working the night shift at a guest house in Pattaya fell asleep at the reception counter and woke up to find valuables missing from the lobby, which are said to be valued at a total of 160,000 baht. The 49 year old staff member filed a report to police and provided surveillance camera footage showing a man entering…
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Non-profit Watchdog Thailand saves over 20 cats locked in house, 5 found dead
Over 20 cats were found starving inside a locked house yesterday in Samut Prakan province, just south of Bangkok. Activists from the non-profit organisation Watchdog Thailand saved 17 of the cats while four escaped and a total of five dead cats were found inside the house. The cats are now being cared for at Watchdog’s shelter. Villagers contacted Watchdog Foundation…
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Wildlife rangers capture aggressive elephant that killed a villager
An aggressive elephant wanted for killing an elderly woman and raiding plantations in Prachin Buri has been caught and taken back to a sanctuary after an effort involving around 150 forestry and wildlife rangers as well as volunteers. The 25 year old hot-tempered elephant had been causing extensive damage to orchards and farms for months, and stomped a 73 year…
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Tourism officials push for all entry restrictions for vaccinated travellers to be lifted by June 1
Thailand’s tourism officials want an end to all entry restrictions for vaccinated travellers by June 1. That means no quarantine, no Test & Go rules, no Sandbox zones, no Covid-19 tests. A plan to gradually lift restrictions over the next few months, leading up to the removal of all restrictions by June 1, has been drafted by the Tourism and…
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Thai police charge 32 university students for involvement in fatal hazing incident
A total of 32 university students in Thailand’s Isaan region are facing criminal charges for a brutal initiation where a first-year student died after being beaten. Of those students, seven of them have reportedly confessed to using excessive violence against the student and are facing charges of colluding in physical assault causing death and assault. First-year students at the Rajamangala…
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No survivors in China Eastern Boeing 737 crash carrying 132 people
Rescuers searching the wreckage of the China Eastern Airlines passenger jet say there are no survivors. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft carrying 132 people crashed into a mountainside in southern China’s Guangxi region after a sudden nosedive. Rescuers are searching a deep pit in the mountainside to find the plane’s black box, which holds flight data and voice recordings from the…
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No flights to new Betong airport, Yala tourism officials talk promotions to boost travel
After the highly-publicised launch of the new airport in Southern Thailand’s Yala went sour, with Nok Air suspending flights to the airport due to a lack of passengers, tourism officials in the Betong area plan to offer discounts on hotel rooms and food for travellers to help the flights takeoff. Nation Thailand says the Betong Airport was “built to boost…
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Police order shutdown of 3 go-go bars, nightclubs in Bangkok’s Thonburi
Police are shutting down three bars for five years in the Thonburi area of Bangkok without much explanation. The three “satan borikan,” or “service places” (a Thai genteelism for prostitution venues) have been closed down for committing offences that violate Thailand’s “Entertainment Act” of 1966 and a government order from 2015. New Jazz, Lan-Lao and Poseidon Pub in Thonburi committed…
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Ranger wanted for murder found dead in Thailand forest after week-long search
After a week-long search involving around 100 officers, the body of a forest ranger wanted for murder was found hanging from a tree in Buriram. The senior ranger was wanted for firing shots at his ex-wife’s home, killing the woman’s 20 year old son. 45 year old Phitphirun Phiraphop was a senior forest protection ranger at Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary.…
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Isaan tradition of scattering ashes banned at local river after 7 villages complain of debris
The tradition of scattering a loved one’s ashes into a river in the Isaan province has been banned in a popular area for the ritual after locals reported that a service was arranging boat trips for families to dump not only the cremated remains into the river, but also ritual items and personal possessions of the deceased. Sometimes even mattresses…
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Hua Hin reports surge in infections, despite drop in overall provincial cases
The number of cases of community transmission has surged in the resort town of Hua Hin, despite a fall in overall case numbers in the western province of Prachuap Khiri Khan. According to a Bangkok Post report, Hua Hin reported 272 new cases on Sunday, jumping from just 44 the day before. A sharp rise in infections was also reported…
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Virologist says blood tests can detect percentage of Thai population infected
A prominent Thai virologist says blood tests should be used to determine the percentage of the population that has been infected with Covid-19. According to a Nation Thailand report, Dr Yong Poovorawan says a blood test can even detect Covid-19 in asymptomatic patients. The head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology made the statement in a post on…
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Phuket man paralysed by drunk officer seeks 15 million baht in compensation
The family of the noodle vendor who was shot by a drunk, off-duty police officer last year on Phuket’s Bangla Road is seeking compensation of 15 million baht. The 25 year old vendor was shot in the stomach with the bullet lodged in his spine, paralysing him from the waist down. The officer is now on trial for attempted murder,…
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All quarantine rules lifted for international travellers to Indonesia
Following in the steps of a number of other Southeast Asian nations, Indonesia is lifting all quarantine requirements for international arrivals in a bid to revive its tourism industry. International arrivals will still need a negative PCR test result before travel. The move follows a trial period of 2 weeks, during which quarantine-free travel was introduced on the islands of…
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CBRE recommends top 5 luxury condominiums in Phuket with fantastic locations
Luxury condominiums in Phuket are an appealing alternative to villas or houses because you can purchase them on freehold, which means that the condos are 100% in your name. It is just like owning a property in your own country. Luxury condos also typically feature their own private pools, as well as a broader range of onsite amenities and 24-hours…
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Government aims to administer boosters to 70% of elderly before Songkran holiday
Health officials plan to administer booster vaccine doses to 70% of Thailand’s elderly population ahead of the Songkran holiday in April. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Department of Disease Control says it doesn’t want to see a repeat of last year, when infections and deaths rose significantly after the Thai New Year holiday, due to the limited availability…
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UPDATE: Boeing 737 carrying 132 passengers crashes into mountains in China
A Boeing 737 passenger jet carrying 132 people has crashed in China, according to a Chinese state media broadcast earlier today. Reports say the Chinese Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 went missing earlier in the day as it was headed from Kunming to Guangzhou. The plane was carrying 123 passengers and 9 crew. The China Eastern Airlines aircraft plummeted rapidly then…
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Daughter of former PM Thaksin moves up in political career, closer to PM candidacy
Thailand’s main opposition party is leaning closer to choosing their candidate for prime minister and reports say the daughter of the former leader Thaksin Shinawatra might run as the party’s candidate. Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn, was announced as the project leader for a Pheu Thai party campaign to draw in new members, but when asked about becoming a candidate for prime minister,…
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Businesses on Khao San Road push for Songkran rules to be eased
Business owners on Bangkok’s Khao San Road are pushing for government officials to allow the gritty nightlife district to host activities for Songkran, the Thai New Year which is celebrated with massive water fights. Khao San Road has been known as a top destination for backpackers on a budget with cheap beer, buckets of alcohol, laughing gas balloons, and scorpion-on-a-stick.…
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US says Rohingya violence was ‘genocide’ as Asean envoy meets Myanmar junta leaders
US President Joe Biden has determined that the violence against the Rohingya minority committed by Myanmar’s military in 2017 amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity, a US official told Reuters on Sunday. The move comes as a special Asean envoy begins three days of visits with junta officials in Myanmar, aiming to begin a peace process. The US Secretary…
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