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.
-
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...
-
Digital Economy Ministry dismisses “fake news” that mobile phones cause cancer
Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Ministry says people shouldn’t fall for claims that leaving your mobile phone beside your head at night will result in cancer. The ministry is urging people not to believe that electromagnetic waves from the phone will cause brain cancer, adding that such a claim constitutes “fake news”, and saying citizens should refrain from sharing it…
-
Royalist hospital director threatened with fake gun
The director of Bangkok’s Mongkulwattana Hospital has brushed off an incident in which a man threatened him with a fake gun. Rienthong Nanna says the perpetrator probably has mental health issues, after the man showed up in the outpatient department brandishing a gun, which turned out to be fake. “The man was arrested and charged with several serious offences, and…
-
Khon Kaen school director accused of sexually abusing students
5 students in the north-eastern province of Khon Kaen are accusing the director of Ban Thung Mon School, in the district of Ban Phai, of sexual abuse. The girls have filed an official police complaint, with the assistance of Pawanamporn Thaewnon-ngiew, a teacher at the school. The Bangkok Post reports she accompanied them to the police station after they confided…
-
Chiang Mai tourism slowdown takes a toll on local businesses
Chiang Mai’s tourism industry has drastically slowed down from the lack of travel due to the affects of the Covid-19 pandemic – the lockdowns and the travel restrictions. Tourists “vanished” during the April lockdown, according to president of the Tourism Association of Chiang Mai, Anantorn Hochindarat. Now, as the chilly, cool season approaches, when the northern province is the most popular…
-
Protest leader Arnon calls impromptu demo to push for release of activists
Anti-government protest leader Arnon Nampa took to social media yesterday to call on fellow activists to assemble at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre for a pre-protest protest. They are demanding the release of 21 arrested protesters who were rounded up by police yesterday whilst setting up for today’s scheduled rally around the Democracy Monument. In a live broadcast on…
-
More arrests made in major online gambling operation bust
Police arrested an alleged online gambling operator and 3 others allegedly involved in running 9 illegal gambling websites that brought in millions of baht. The recent arrest follows a bust earlier this month where police arrested 25 Thai nationals in Chiang Rai and Nonthaburi, a suburb just north of Bangkok, who were allegedly involved in running illegal websites. An arrest…
-
Thailand News Today | No STV tourists, Boss in Dubai, border fears in Tak | October 13
Daily news about Thailand. Latest information, and tourism and visa news. No one in Guangzhou applied for the Special Tourist Visa, Foreign Ministry In a stunning revelation yesterday, it turns out that not a single person from Guangzhou, China, actually applied for the new Special Tourist Visa. That’s the sad and bizarre truth, according to Thai media outlet Siamrath. Around…
-
Royal Thai Police form new bureau to investigate cybercrime
The Royal Thai Police have formed a new organisation to investigate cyber-related crimes. Commissioner of the new Cybercrime Investigation Bureau, Kornchai Klaiklueng, says they will work with international counterparts, but officers need to train first before dealing with transnational cybercrime investigations. The bureau is short on staff and still needs to recruit more officers before it can begin operations, according…
-
Shooting outside Chon Buri nightclub injures 4
A motorbike driver allegedly shot at a group of people outside a Chon Buri nightclub, injuring 4. Police are investigating the shooting, but say they believe it started as an argument between 2 opposing parties. Police found 10 bullet casings on the ground. 3 men where shot and moderately injured while another woman was seriously injured from a bullet wound. They…
-
Isaan governor orders investigation into 3 year old boy’s death
The governor of Isaan’s Kalasin province ordered an investigation into the death of a 3 year old boy. Relatives say the child died after falling out of bed. Medical examiners say the child’s forehead was swollen, eyes were bruised and arm was broken. The child’s family says the boy fell off the bed and then collapsed in the bathroom, but…
-
Domestic tourism survey indicates long road to recovery
“Entrepreneurs in the tourism industry need to adjust their strategy to suit consumer behaviour in the new normal era.” A government survey looking at the travel habits of domestic tourists indicates an uphill struggle for the tourism industry’s recovery. Pimchanok Vonkorpon, from the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office says around a quarter of those surveyed travelled during weekends…
-
Police search for suspect after man shot, critically injured near Chon Buri shipyard
Police are searching for a suspect who allegedly shot a 37 year old man near a shipyard in Chon Buri’s Banglamung district. Son Kuengsamrong was found lying on the ground with a bullet wound just below his rib cage. He was taken to the hospital and is in critical condition. A truck driver passing by yesterday afternoon noticed Son lying…
-
Toilets might be a problem at tomorrow’s pro-democracy rally
The pesky issue of student’s Numbers 1s and Number 2s has become a potential problem for protest organisers. Toilets might be hard to find at tomorrow’s pro-democracy rally. Activists say the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is refusing to provide mobile toilets for the rally at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument. (Although in the past, protest organisers have arranged the toilets for their events.)…
-
Barriers to be installed at train crossings nationwide in wake of Chachoengsao tragedy – VIDEO
Following a major collision between a train and a bus in the eastern province of Chachoengsao on Sunday, officials plan to review and install barriers at train crossings around the country. 18 people died and 44 were injured when a freight train collided with a chartered bus near Khlong Kwaeng Klan railway station. It’s understood the bus passengers were on…
-
Health officials considering more relaxed quarantine for short-term visitors
The director-general of the Health Service Support Department says Thai officials are discussing a “more flexible form of quarantine” that would allow short-term tourists the freedom to travel within designated zones in provinces that are ready to re-open. Thares Krassanairawiwong says the tourists would be permitted to travel on specially designated routes, aka. “green lanes”, during their 14 day quarantine,…
-
Mobile testing units dispatched to Tak after Burmese drivers test positive
After 3 Burmese lorry drivers tested positive for Covid-19 in the northern province of Tak, officials have sent mobile testing units to the Mae Sot district to test around 4,000 Thais and Burmese in high-risk border areas. Mae Sot mayor, Thoetkiat Shinsoranan, says all residents are being told to stay home as much as possible. The Bangkok Post reports that…
-
Border schools close for cleaning, thousands test for Covid-19 after Burmese truck drivers test positive
Nearly a dozen schools in Tak’s Mae Sot district closed today to be disinfected and around 4,000 people in the community are expected to be tested for Covid-19 after 3 Burmese cargo truck drivers tested positive for the virus after crossing through a border checkpoint. Those in communities deemed at high-risk have been told not to leave their home, unless…
-
Where’s Boss? Wanted Red Bull heir spotted in Dubai
Some say they’ve spotted the wanted Red Bull heir in Dubai. Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya has an Interpol Red Notice out for his arrest and is wanted for allegedly killing a police officer in 2012 when he sped his Ferrari through Bangkok’s Thong Lo area, allegedly running over and dragging the police officer down the street. While Thai media reported the…
-
Thailand News Today | Land bridge project, “Thai Bridge”, Chaing Mai black widow | October 12
Daily Thai TV News, with all the latest updates. Posted around 5pm, Monday to Friday. Protest leader says activists “in it for the long haul” Human rights lawyer and protest leader, Arnon Nampa, says political activists seeking to oust the current Thai government are “in it for the long haul”. The leader of the People’s Group (formerly the Free People…
-
Covid-19 could lead to a crisis worse than the 1997 Asian financial crisis
With debt relief measures set to expire this month, Thailand’s financial woes, brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, might end up being worse that the 1997 Asian financial crisis, known in Thailand as the Tom Yam Kung crisis, according to the Bangkok Commercial Asset Management. The 1997 Asian financial crisis started in Thailand with the financial collapse of the Thai…
-
Thammasat students ask for 3 days off class to participate in protest
With the next pro-democracy protest planned for this Wednesday, students are asking Thammasat University officials to cancel classes for 3 days so the students can take part in the rally. The rally is expected to start at 2pm on Wednesday at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument, not far from the University’s Tha Prachan Campus, but no end time has been announced. The…
-
Woman arrested for scamming 500 Burmese workers, promising visa extensions
A woman has been arrested after allegedly promising more than 500 Burmese workers that she could extend their visas, collecting a total of more 6 million baht from the workers for her apparent “services.” The more than 500 workers filed a report with police after the woman allegedly falsely advertised that she could issue the Burmese migrants new passports and…
-
Man arrested for posing as air force pilot, conning woman out of 800,000 baht
A 44 year old man has been arrested in the northern province of Sukothai, after claiming to be a pilot with the Royal Thai Air Force and cheating his girlfriend out of 800,000 baht. Thai Residents reports that the man, named only as Prapol, denies all the charges against him. The victim, named only as Miss A, says she met…
-
4 Burmese men arrested after crossing Moei River to Thailand
Tak border patrols have arrested 4 Burmese men who allegedly waded across the Moei River, crossing the natural border into Thailand illegally. Border officials have tightened their patrol since Myanmar reported a second wave of Covid-19 cases in August, and even more after this past weekend when 3 Burmese truck drivers tested positive for Covid-19 after entering Thailand through the…
-
Thailand’s land bridge plan still floating
Deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul says the government is still mulling the idea of a land bridge between the southern provinces of Ranong and Chumphon. The project’s aim would be to improve the infrastructure in the region by connecting the Gulf of Thailand directly with the Andaman Sea, “thereby making the Kingdom more competitive”. In a report in the Bangkok…
-
Chiang Mai woman arrested for allegedly hiring hitman to kill her ex-husband
A 63 year old Chiang Mai woman has been arrested for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill her ex-husband because she wanted his life insurance payout. Bualoi Tala is also being investigated for her alleged involvement in other possible murders after a number of people died after being poisoned and Bualoi received payouts from their life insurance policies. Police say…
-
Protest leader says activists “in it for the long haul”
Human rights lawyer and protest leader, Arnon Nampa, says political activists seeking to oust the current Thai government are “in it for the long haul”. The leader of the People’s Group (formerly the Free People movement) says protesters will gather at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument on Wednesday (October 14), before proceeding to Government House. There, he says they will set up…
-
The Pattaya to Hua Hin bridge. Government discusses 900 billion baht investment.
The government is looking into a so-called “Thai Bridge” that would connect Pattaya to Hua Hin, an estimated 900 billion baht investment. The project would be part of the Eastern Economic Corridor development plan aimed at improving the transportation and infrastructure in Thailand. The 900 billion baht investment is expected to take 10 years to financially implement, according to chairperson…
-
8,000 homes inundated in Nakhon Ratchasima after 2 days of torrential rain
The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is urging emergency services and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in the Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima, in Thailand’s north east, to urgently attend to the suffering of the region’s flood victims. Flooding has cut electricity and water supplies to several areas around the district. 8,000+ houses have been flooded after the overflowing…
-
UPDATE: 18 dead, 44 injured, bus collides with train in Chachoengsao
A bus has collided with a train next to Khlong Kwaeng Klan railway station, killing 18 passengers and injuring 44. The incident happened just after 8am this morning. The chartered bus was carrying some 60 factory workers to a Buddhist ceremony and was crossing a railway track when it was struck by a freight train headed to Samut Prakhan, south of…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.