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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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Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
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Destitute former teen star found dead in Chon Buri – VIDEO
A former TV star was found dead yesterday morning at a home in the Si Racha district of Chon Buri. Si Racha police were notified of the discovery, at a house in the Surasak sub-district, at around 10am. They arrived at the house to find the body of 33 year old Manusanan ‘Tai’ Pandee. Manusanan had reportedly fallen on hard…
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Face masks become mandatory in Malaysia’s fight against Covid-19
Even when it was in the grip of Covid-19 in March, reporting daily new cases in triple digits, Malaysia never made the wearing of face masks mandatory. Defense Minister Ismail Sabri says this was to avoid placing financial stress on the country’s poor, given that face masks should be changed at least once a day. However, as the country reports…
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Demonstrators turn Isaan protests into celebrations – VIDEO
Students held protests yesterday on campuses across Isaan, Thailand’s northeastern region, demanding that the government dissolve parliament, rewrite the constitution to be more democratic, and stop official and unofficial harassment and prosecution of its opponents. The demands echoed their Bangkok counterparts in last Saturday’s massive demonstration, demanding accountability and the end of military involvement in politics. Thousands of student protesters…
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Man arrested for stealing Phuket ambulance
A man has been arrested in Phang Nga after allegedly stealing an ambulance in Phuket. Reports in Thai Residents and The Phuket News say the vehicle was stolen from outside the Kathu office of The Kusoldharm Foundation at around 4am yesterday and discovered missing by a member of the foundation shortly after. After notifying police, foundation workers initially tried driving…
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4 pregnant women among 32 human trafficking victims dumped in forest in southern Thailand
4 pregnant women are among 32 Burmese dumped in a forest in the southern province of Chumphon after being illegally trafficked into Thailand. It’s understood the group had all been working in Malaysia until the Covid-19 crisis erupted and they lost their jobs. Thai Residents reports that they pooled all the money they had to engage a human trafficking gang…
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University students defy ban, hold protest
With anti-government demonstrations flaring up around the country, a bid by the dean of the Mahasarakham University to prevent one there failed yesterday as students defied his ban and went ahead with their protest. University campuses are exempt from the Emergency Decree’s ban on gatherings, and the university initially said only that any rallies held on campus grounds must abide…
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Transport Ministry says they still want to negotiate the 24 billion baht Hopewell pay-out
Driving out to Don Mueang Airport it’s difficult not to notice the new BTS line that now extends from Mo Chit and past the airport. It looks finished and, apparently, will open before the end of the year. But running alongside are the remnants of an earlier, and very expensive, attempt to build a link out to Don Mueang, at…
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Hospital steps up security after gang fights
Following incidents at 2 hospitals in greater Bangkok, in which 3 staff were injured, prompting a female doctor to resign, Udon Thani Hospital has set up a new security system to prevent damage from brawls between the northeastern province’s rival gangs. The hospital’s director says tight security is necessary, citing 4 patients recently brought in with severe injuries from a…
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Association urges easing visa restrictions for foreign teachers
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is being urged to relax stringent visa restrictions for foreign teachers and students. The Association of Private School and Non-Formal Education delivered a letter to the government with the request, as many schools, colleges and universities find themselves without foreign teachers due to the burden of paperwork. If the move is successful foreign teachers and students already…
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Red shirt leader warns activists against insulting Monarchy
The chairman of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, aka the “red shirt” movement, says the Student Union of Thailand and the Free Youth group, who launched anti-government protests last week, should stick to their 3 demands and not “cross a line” by including discussion about Thailand’s Monarchy. He warns that, otherwise, they will meet the same fate as…
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Phase 6 of re-opening to see thousands of foreigners granted entry to Thailand
A number of additional categories of foreigners will be able to apply to re-enter the Kingdom. These include migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, Elite Visa holders, medical tourists, film crew, convention exhibitors and select business visitors. Anyone that doesn’t fall into one of those groups will remain excluded from the country as the borders remain shut to almost…
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10 returning soldiers found with high fever
151 Thai soldiers, who went to Hawaii to participate in the Lightning Forge 2020 joint training program with the US, returned home yesterday on a Thai Airways flight that landed at Suvarnabhumi airport at 5:40 pm. 10 soldiers were found to have high fevers and were rushed to a hospital in Bangkok to be tested for Covid-19. Another soldier was…
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Thailand’s tourist magnets deserted and desperate
The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, bird flu, SARS, political upheavals, passenger boats sinking. None of these have had anywhere near the effect of this year’s Covid-19 pandemic in Thailand. Visitor numbers, even from the usually enthusiastic Tourism Authority of Thailand, are expected to plummet up to 80% for the year. The other 20% mostly visited the Kingdom in the first…
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Covid-19 documentary to feature Thailand and New Zealand as success stories
Thailand and New Zealand have been chosen by the World Health Organization as successful models to be featured in a documentary about handling and stemming the spread of Covid-19 . A WHO official in Thailand confirmed to the Bangkok Post that the documentary is in production. No further details of the project have been revealed. The National Institute of Health’s…
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Bangkok “sadist” arrested for man’s death, woman’s abduction
Bangkok police have arrested a man for the abduction of a woman and the death of her boyfriend in the city’s Lumpini Park Tuesday night. Authorities say he is a sexual sadist who preyed on sex workers in the downtown area. Police say a woman, identified as 35 year old Natchada Kiengkaiwaykin, was lured into his Volkswagen van. Her boyfriend,…
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Global aviation recovery could take 3 years – Survey
“Widespread recovery of the global airline industry could be up to three years away.” That’s the consensus out of n industry poll conducted as part of FlightPlan: Charting a Course into the Future. 500 professionals around the world were asked questions about the likely recovery of the global aviation industry. Apart from the dire predictions of a slow recovery over the next…
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Phuket to get 3 billion baht medical tourism hub
Plans are underway for a 3 billion baht medical hub on the island of Phuket, set over 140 rai near Mai Khao beach, just north of the airport. A report in Nation Thailand says the plan has been confirmed by the Director of Vachira Hospital, Dr. Chalermpong Sukontapol. He says that as a result of the downturn in tourism due…
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Chiang Mai madam arrested over underage gay sex shop
A team of police and provincial officers have arrested a transgender woman on charges of operating a brothel after raiding a Chiang Mai massage shop. 2 young masseurs were caught in the sting operation on Tuesday night. The arrested woman identified herself as the manager of the shop although police believe she’s the owner of the business. Authorities say the…
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Last Qantas 747 flight draws kangaroo logo in the sky to mark final voyage – VIDEO
The Qantas Boeing 747 has taken to the skies for the last time, marking its final journey by drawing the airline’s famous kangaroo logo in the sky. The design could be seen on flight radar maps as the aircraft, affectionately known as the Queen of the Skies, ascended out of Sydney for the last time. It flew over the Harbour…
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Sudden downpour floods Pattaya’s main roads
More rain in Pattaya today brining flooding to some of the ‘usual’ spots and affecting traffic. The mid-afternoon downpour flooded Pattaya’s major arteries, causing water up to 50 centimetres deep on some of the roads, including (of course) Beach Road. The rain battered the seaside city for around 2 hours. The Bangkok-Pattaya motorway was also hit by the sudden downpour…
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6 escaped buffalo rescued by Buddhist nun
6 buffalo who broke loose from a Bangkok slaughterhouse and onto city streets this morning will be saved by a nun who owns a farm for rescued farm animals. Phakjira Hatthakitchamroen, who owns Punissarapab Farm in the western province of Ratchaburi, is collecting funds to buy the animals from the slaughterhouse in the Srinagarindra area. They were spotted wandering On…
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Chiang Mai eatery fined for alcohol promotion
A Chiang Mai restaurant is warning other eateries to be very careful about promoting alcohol after being raided and fined. Police went to Ai ToMoE restaurant in Chiang Mai after a tip that it was promoting beer in its 499 baht buffet menu, according to the restaurant’s Facebook post yesterday. Offices arrested the chef, named “Boy”, and fined him 50,000…
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Isaan students say they’ll defy protest ban
Students at Isaan’s Mahasarakham University say they’re going ahead with a planned anti-government rally despite a ban from the institution. Organisers of the protest made the announcement earlier today. The university initially said yesterday that any rallies held on campus grounds must abide by the laws and refrain from anti-monarchy rhetoric. The university later revised its policy and banned all…
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Government says Emergency Decree extension won’t ban protests
Although the Emergency Decree was officially extended again today, through the end of August, the government says political gatherings and rallies won’t be banned. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha approved the extension earlier today but officials insist the emergency measures are strictly for guarding against the resurgence of Covid-19 and unrelated to the ongoing protests. According to the secretary-general of the National…
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Tourism sector facing massive closures
Thailand’s tourism sector, long seen as a lifeline for the nation’s battered economy, is in a meltdown; more than 30% of tourism-related businesses have left the market with many more expected to follow, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand. The president of the TCT says the tourism industry predicts further deterioration after 6 months of the Covid-19 crisis, as…
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Bangkok police seize fake drugs, cosmetics, supplements in factory raid
Police and officers of the Food and Drug Administration seized 119 items made using hazardous substances and sporting fake labels in a raid on an illegal factory near Bangkok’s Pratunam intersection. The products were valued at 200,000 baht. The FDA reported the production of illegal healthcare products, which led police to Tofu Skincare based in the capitol’s Ratchathewi district. The…
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Woman says emergency operator joked and hung up on her as father lay dying
A young woman in Ratchaburi province, western Thailand, says an emergency operator joked that he couldn’t hear her, then said, “beep, beep” before hanging up on her. The woman, 18 year old Pronrawin Ongpisut, was trying to reach emergency services to help her dying father. The man has since passed away. A report in Coconuts says Pronrawin first called the…
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PM approves Emergency Decree extension
PM Prayut Chan O’Cha has signed off on a proposal by the National Security Council and the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration to extend the Emergency Decree until the end of August. The Emergency Decree gives the government sweeping powers to manage the Covid-19 crisis at the national level from a “top down” perspective. It also provides draconian penalties for…
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Bangkok slum fire injures 3, damages 5 homes
A fire in central Bangkok’s Khlong Toei slum area last night injured 3 and damaged at least 5 houses with many more reportedly losing their possessions. It took firefighters around 30 minutes to bring the blaze under control. An initial police inspection indicated that the the blaze may have been started in a house whose residents made a small fire…
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Bangkok entertainment venues still face strict safety checks
Although there have been no community transmitted cases of Covid-19 in Thailand for 60 days, a deputy governor in Bangkok is urging authorities and the public not to let their guards down, after details were revealed in the case of a Sudanese diplomat’s daughter who tested positive for the virus. The deputy governor chaired a meeting yesterday in which he…
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