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 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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100 houses damaged after storm hits Nakhon Ratchasima districts
by Prasit Tangprasert A tropical storm has left more than 100 houses damaged after it hit Nakhon Ratchasima province, north-east of Bangkok, yesterday. Nakhon Ratchasima’s Governor Wichian Chantanothai says… “We are in the process of surveying damages.” He made the comment as he was handing out relief items to storm victims in Sikhiu district. He said authorities planned to ask soldiers…
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Future Forward’s Thanathorn demands an apology from conservative Nation TV
The Future Forward Party leader is demanding an apology from Nation TV for broadcasting an edited voice clip that makes it appear like a conversation between him and former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra. “I am demanding Nation apologise to me and the people who heard this content,” he said when given a chance to respond on Nation TV yesterday. Nation…
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Cabinet waives tolls for 8 days over Songkran break
Thailand’s cabinet has decided to waive tolls on the Bangkok-Pattaya and Bangkok-Bang Pa-in-Bang Phli motorways starting April 10 until midnight on April 18. This takes in the main Songkran break between April 12 – 14 and the annual ‘seven days of danger’. A Cabinet spokesperson say that a large number of people are expected to leave Bangkok for the provinces…
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Thaksin is in Hong Kong. Thailand wants to extradite him.
The exiled former Thai PM, Thaksin Shinawatra, is in Hong Kong to be part of the wedding party in the marriage of his youngest daughter Paetongtarn ‘Ing’ Shinawatra to a commercial pilot, Pidok Sooksawas. Thai authorities are seeking the extradition of the exiled former PM from Hong Kong, according to local HK media. Many of the powerful Shinawatra clan are…
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Man stabbed at a Chon Buri karaoke lounge
PHOTO: Thai Rath Police were called to a karaoke lounge in Sri Racha, Chon Buri last night after a man was stabbed following an argument. 39 year old Chuchart Kamngern was found outside the lounge with a serious stab wound to the left side of his chest and was rushed to hospital in Sri Racha. Thai Rath reports that staff…
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75 year old mauled to death by pitbulls in Nonthaburi
PHOTO: Sanook A family have returned home to find the 75 year old Grandmother had been attacked and mauled by the family’s six pit bull terriers. The woman, named Iat, was lying in a pool of blood outside the house in Bang Bua Thong, Nonthaburi, on the west side of the Chao Phraya, Bangkok. Sanook reports that she had been…
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Indian tourist rescued from a near-drowning at Patong Beach
PHOTOS: Patong Surf Life Saving An Indian tourist has been rescued from drowning after getting into difficulty while swimming at Patong beach yesterday. Patong Surf Life Saving report that around 1.30pm at Patong Beach an Indian tourist was spotted in the water, choking and fighting to stay afloat. Lifeguards dived in and brought him back to the beach. He was…
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Polish man charged after threatening people with a gun in Patong
PHOTOS: Patong Police A Polish man has been charged with carrying a gun in public in Patong, Phuket. Patong Police report that at 6.20pm last night (Tuesday) they were notified that a man was using a gun to threaten others at a hotel on Pisit Koranee Road in Patong. Police headed to the hotel to find the Polish man. He…
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31 injured when bus overturned in Nakhon Ratchasima
by Prasit TangprasertPHOTOS:โนนสูง “อาสา” ฐานหน้าโรงพยาบาลโนนสูง Thirty one passengers have been injured, two critically, when a Nong Khai-Rayong inter-provincial bus overturned in Nakhon Ratchasima early this morning. Police and rescue workers were alerted at 2.40am to the scene on Mitraparp Highway in Ban Don Tabaeng, Noen Sung district in Nakhon Ratchasima. The blue and white air conditioned bus was carrying 41…
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People have short memories. Why the Boeing 737 MAX will survive the current crisis.
If history is anything to go on people’s current fears about the Boeing 737 MAX jets will be short-lived. The make0ver of the venerable 737 plane, the most popular passenger jet in history, was supposed to set Boeing on a path to success. Airlines said it was the plane they wanted – perfect for short-haul, cheap to run, new efficient…
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Phuket kratom-cooker robs pharmacies – VIDEO
Phuket police yesterday have arrested a thief while he was cooking up a batch of kratom. He had earlier robbed pharmacies in Chalong, Phuket. Chief Investigator of the Phuket Provincial Police Col Prawit Engchuan says, “Yesterday we have arrested 25 year old Rattaphon Pales at a house in Chalong. Police seized 0.45 litres of liquid kratom.” “On Monday night Chalong…
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French man and two others killed in Rawai motorbike accident, Phuket
Three people have died and another sustained serious injuries following the collision of two motorbikes in Rawai early yesterday morning (Tuesday). The accident happened on Viset Road in front of a public health centre at 1.30am. The Honda Wave motorbike driver was 37 years old Siripong Mulikkabut. He sustained serious injuries and was rushed to Vachira Hospital where he was…
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Choosing sides. Abhisit Vejjajiva will have to choose after Sunday.
PHOTO: The Nation Sunday’s election will not be the end, it will only be another episode in a two-decade long drama as Thailand struggles with democracy and attempts to throw off the shackles of nearly a century of military tampering in political affairs. Thailand’s oldest political party, the Democrats, head into Sunday’s election with leader Abhisit Vejjajiva facing some tough…
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“I’m sorry” – Premchai granted bail
“There is one thing. I am sorry.” PHOTO: Thai PBS Thailand’s billionaire construction magnate says he was “sorry” after being granted bail following yesterday’s court verdict that set a prison sentence of 16 months for illegal hunting in the Thungyai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary in far north-west Thailand. Three others were also found guilty and given jail terms by the court. Yong…
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Phuket Town Beauty spa shooter kills himself in Saphan Hin
UPDATE: The suspect in this morning’s shootings, 53 year old Chana Rodket from Songkhla, has shot and killed himself in Saphan His this afternoon. He was a housekeeper a the beauty spa where the shooting took place. Earlier, a South Korean man and Thai woman were injured in a shooting at a beauty spa near Naka Market in Phuket Town.…
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BKK taxi driver returns 400,000 baht to Danish tourist
Usually maligned, it’s great to post a good-news story about Bangkok’s taxi drivers. A capital city cabbie is being praised after returning a bag containing 400,000 baht to a Danish tourist. T News reports that Somsri Ralat picked up the Danish tourist and his Thai wife at BKK airport and was taking them to their Hotel in Bang Yai yesterday…
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Two injured after stepping on suspected mines at a Krabi island
Two Thai men have sustained serious injuries after stepping on a mine at an island near Ao Nang, Krabi. The Ao Nang Police were notified about the two men being injured from the incident in Ao Nang at 6pm last night. 35 year old Somchaai Longj sustained injuries on his legs, shoulder and a broken leg from the explosion and…
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Specialist clinics for pollution-related symptoms to be set up around the country
The Public Health Ministry says they are now preparing to set up specialised clinics to treat patients suffering from pollution-related symptoms in the northern parts of the country. “At present, we have just one such clinic in the country. So, we have decided to introduce many more,” according to permanent secretary Dr Sukhum Karnchanapimai. He made the pledge in response…
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Japanese tourist re-united with his bag and valuables
PHOTO: The Pattaya News A Japanese tourist has offered his sincere thanks to a minivan driver, Pattaya’s Tourist Police and the Department of Land Transport. The Pattaya News reports that 46 year old Japanese tourist Ryochi Mihashi had taken a minivan ride from Rayong to South Pattaya but left his bag in the van. The bag contained 4,100 baht, US$440, 56,000…
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Premchai verdict and prison sentence comes just 5 days before the election
Premchai Karnasutra, once listed among Thailand’s richest people, has been found guilty in a Kanchanaburi court of poaching protected animals, and sentenced to 16 months in jail. Wildlife rangers arrested the 64 year old tycoon along with four other associates in the Thungyai Naresuan nature reserve, a world heritage site in Kanchanaburi in February last year. The incident has caused…
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Premchai imprisoned for 16 months – Kanchanaburi
PHOTO: Premchai arrives for this morning’s verdict – Khaosod English Premchai Karnasutra, the Thai construction tycoon, has been imprisoned for 16 months after the verdict on the long running case was announced in court this morning. The Thong Pha Phum Provincial Court has sentenced Premchai to 16 months in prison for weapons-related charges and conspiring to poach wildlife. The court…
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Siam Songkran Festival lights up this year’s Songkran in Bangkok
Sick of running around Bangkok with your 200 baht Tesco water pistol? Combine the annual water festival with a world class music festival instead. Welcome to Siam Songkran, Thailand’s newest four-day Songkran festival set to be held April 12 – 15 at Bangkok’s largest city centre entertainment zone, SHOW DC Arena. A time of tradition, Songkran is also a time…
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TAT expects 2.3 million tourists for this year’s Songkran
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is expecting more than 2.3 million local and foreign tourists will join the various Songkran celebrations this year. They say that should generate 20 billion baht+ in revenue for tourism and tourism-related services. TAT’s Governor Yuthasak Supasorn says 300,000 international arrivals are expected to celebrate the five day festival starting April 12, along with two…
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German man dies in Phuket motorcycle crash
A German man has died after a motorbike crash in Thalang. The Thalang Police were notified of the incident last night on Srisoonthorn Road in Baan Manik, Thalang. The German man, 53 year old Carsten Elfried Koch, was the driver of a motorbike and sustained critical injuries as a result of the crash. He died at the scene. Police believe…
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Officers follow-up on slow loris tout on Phuket beach – VIDEO
Phuket officials are searching for a ‘loris tout’ who was offering photographs with a slow loris at a Kata beach. (Some video of a slow loris below) ‘Angelina Bratukhina’ posted a video with a message read “Where are the police??!! It’s right now at Kata Noi beach.” The man was offering photos with the slow loris for 200 -300 baht…
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Six per cent of Thai university students have attempted suicide
Recent research reveals a disturbing finding that over 6 per cent of university students have attempted suicide. The study findings have been highlighted after several students killed themselves in recent weeks. “From research on university students’ depression during the past three to four years, it can be concluded that 6.4 per cent of students turned suicidal and tried to take…
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Court to rule on Premchai poaching case today
The Thong Phaphume provincial court in Thailand’s western province of Kanchanaburi will deliver its long-awaited verdict in the illegal hunting case on the billionaire Thai construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta today. He, and his hunting party, is charged with killing protected species. The alleged offence took place on February 3 last year in Kanchanaburi’s Thungyai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary. They were arrested by…
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Rock Thailand, Japanese start-ups eye Thai businesses
Noting Thailand as the new south east Asian regional innovation hub, the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok, in collaboration with Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, CP Group and True Corporation, launched Rock Thailand, a start-up incubation project. Rock Thailand is being used to open a stage for 10 top technology start-ups from Japan to present their business models to…
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Porsche driver charged with reckless driving after death of two women
Bangkok Police have charged a Porsche driver who crashed into a motorcycle, killing two women, one of them also losing her unborn baby and being rushed to hospital, only to die soon after. The accident also damaged a roadside motorcycle-repair shop. The original report from The Thaiger HERE. Police announced that Somkiat Pakdeenok had been charged with reckless driving causing…
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Water shut offs to hit parts of Cherng Talay for two weeks
The Phuket Water Authority (PWA) has announced that water supply in some areas of Cherng Talay will be shut off from March 19 – 31 at ‘some times’ during the day. Water will be shut off while work is being carried out on moving main water pipes. Areas to be affected include parts of Cherng Talay. “Residents in these areas should save…
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