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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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Number of Covid-19 cases passes 3.5 million worldwide
The number of Covid-19 cases around the world yesterday passed the 3.5 million mark, with a worldometers.com tally confirming 84,004 new cases in the last 24 hours. However, the growth in new cases is finally starting to slow down – flattening the curve. Nearly a quarter of a million people have now died from the virus, with Europe and the…
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First month in 16 years with no insurgency attacks in Thailand
Last month was the first in 16 years in which there were no insurgent attacks on Thai forces or civilians, either in Thailand’s restive Deep South or elsewhere. The country’s three Muslim-majority southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat, all around Malaysia’s northern border, have been embroiled in a bloody separatist insurgency for the best part of two decades. More…
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Two women in Rayong fined 15 million baht each for ciggie smuggling
A Thai ‘auntie’ and her daughter from Rayong have been fined 15 million baht for smuggling 37 crates of cigarettes, valued around 200,000 baht, from Cambodia. 53 year old Pisamai and 34 years old Somradee tried to smuggle nearly 19,000 packets of cigarettes over the border. Investigators raided their apartment in Muang Rayong. They were caught red handed loading the cases…
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3 suspected insurgents killed in Pattani
Authorities shot and killed 3 suspected insurgents on Thursday in Pattani province in Thailand’s deep South, long the home of a bloody separatist insurgency. Security forces believe the men were planning to mount an attack during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The shootings are the first act of violence since Malaysia’s Barisan Revolusi Nasional, or National Revolutionary Front rebels…
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Surat Thani governor confirms that residents coming back from Phuket will be quarantined
With the exodus of people from Phuket heading back to their home provinces, officials from Surat Thani have confirmed that they will be quarantined at home for 14 days when they arrive. Surat Thani is about a 3-4 hour drive northeast from Phuket. The Surat Thani governor Witchawut Jinto has ordered all district chiefs in the province to quarantine visitors…
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Wanted: 5 quarantined inmates who escaped from Issan prison
5 prisoners in Issan’s upper northeastern Sakon Nakhon province pulled off a daring escape from Sawang Daen Din Prison yesterday morning after being transferred to a Covid-19 quarantine room. The inmates escaped through the ceiling of the room and found their way through tight passages in the building without once being spotted by the guards. They then made a rope…
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New plans for managing Thailand’s 2020 public debt
The Thai Cabinet has approved new plans for managing the fiscal 2020 public debt that was previously proposed by the Ministry of Finance. Deputy Government spokesperson Traisulee Traisaranakul announced that… “according to the new plans, the amount of ‘new’ debt has been adjusted up to 1.497 trillion baht from 894.005 billion baht.” “The plan for the management of ‘existing’ debt has…
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Thai baht up 3% against USD over past month
Potential tourists and expats shipping in money from overseas were hoping the Thai baht would continue to fall against the US dollar. But they’d be surprised that the baht has rebounded in April against the greenback – about 3% in value. But Thailand’s Central Bank is warning that the recent strengthening of the baht against the USD may “not be sustainable”.…
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Trump claims “evidence” that virus originated in Wuhan lab, WHO wants to join investigation
US President Donald Trump claimed yesterday in a nationally televised address that he “has seen evidence” the the Covid-19 coronavirus originated in a Wuhan epidmiology lab, an assertion roundly disputed by scientists and intelligence agencies, and which threatens to turn into a diplomatic disaster. He declined to share the evidence, claiming he is “not allowed.” The claim was almost immediately contradicted…
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3 more Cambodians arrested as part of Phuket human trafficking ring
2 Cambodian women and 1 man have been arrested in Phuket’s Patong municipality as part of a human trafficking ring where children were routinely beaten with wire hangers if they failed to meet their 3000 baht per day quota selling floral garlands. The arrests of 27 year old Chanta, 32 year old Lia and 32 year old Kaew (the man),…
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Committee votes to ban harmful pesticides from June 1
The National Hazardous Substances Committee has voted to push ahead with the ban on two pesticides, effective June 1. The products are paraquat and chlorpyrifos, 2 of 3 toxic weed killers that have come under scrutiny. It was agreed to allow the controlled use of glyphosate, the third chemical, until the end of November this year. The vote comes following…
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Woman brutally murdered in Chonburi
Yesterday at 1pm Police Colonel Chiddecha Songkhong, director of Nong Prue Police Station, Bang Lamung District in Chonburi province, was notified of a murder. The incident was reported as a murder of a Thai woman at a village in Nong Prue Sub-district. Chiddecha along with Police Somboon Osammaitee, Pattaya Travel Inspector Police, medical staff from Bang Lamung Hospital Sawang and…
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Thailand News Today – Thursday, April 30
Thailand Covid-19 update: 7 new cases, no new deaths The CSSA has announced this morning that Thailand had only 7 new cases of the Covid-19 nationwide in the previous 24 hours. 3 of the new cases were imported, meaning that they came from Thai nationals returning to the country from overseas. All were immediately quarantined. Only 4 cases came from…
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Rare pink dolphins spotted off Koh Phangan – VIDEO
Pink dolphins are extremely rare, mainly found in only a few spots in the world, including parts of China, Hong Kong waters and sections of the Amazon river. So it was a surprise for fishermen in the Gulf of Thailand to have a rare encounter with pink dolphins, which scientists say are becoming bolder in the absence of tourists The…
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Antiviral Remdesevir has “significant effect” – VIDEO
The controversial antiviral drug Remdesevir got a boost today after Dr Anthony Fauci, the most trusted voice in the US when speaking of Covid-19, announced the drug has has a “clear-cut” effect in helping Covid-19 patients recover. “The data show that Remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery, proving that a drug can block…
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2 Aussies win $7,500 each in racial discrimination suit
After being turned away from a Thai restaurant in Sydney’s central business district, 2 caucasian Australian men have been awarded A$7,500 each for racial discrimination. 32 year old Luke Masters, and Wayne Clothier aged 33, were awarded the payout today after they were prevented from entering Mr B’s Hotel on Pitt Street in Sydney’s CBD in September 2017. A security…
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Thai Airways gets another lifeline from the government
Thai Airways is finally getting a reprieve, after years of financial woes and corporate drama. The struggling national carrier is getting a lifeline in the form of a bailout loan. Finance permanent secretary Prasong Poontaneat made the announcement yesterday, after a meeting chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. The State Enterprise Policy Committee meeting approved “in principle” the proposal to rehabilitate…
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Crocodile attacks and kills 55 year old fisherman in Indonesia
A crocodile was hunted and killed after it attacked and ate a 55 year old fisherman. Reports reveal that villagers at Riau province Indonesia, on the central eastern coast of Sumatra facing the Strait of Malacca, got together to help to catch the crocodile. When the crocodile was eventually captured and killed, the villagers then cut open the crocodile’s belly to…
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Man steals 5,000 baht handout from kidney patient
A 47 year old man undergoing treatment for kidney disease at a hospital in Nang Rong, near Buriram, north-east Thailand, has had his 5,000 baht government handout stolen – by a relative. The man, named only as Narongsak, applied for the aid package, put in place to ease the economic hardship caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, and asked a family…
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200 baby turtles born at beach in front of Banyan Tree Samui
The birth of more than 200 green turtles has brought some much-needed joy to staff at one of Thailand’s top hotels on Koh Samui. Between April 4 and 24, three nests hatched on the secluded beach at Banyan Tree Samui resort, and a total of around 200 baby turtles emerged under the watchful gaze of the hotel’s resident marine biologist,…
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This year’s wet season expected to be later, drier
Thailand’s annual rainy season usually arrives sometime around Songkran, the Thai New Year festival, on April 13 each year. But the Thai Meteorological Department is warning that the start of heavy rains are unlikely to start around the country until around the third week in May. They also forecast rainfall this year to be approximately 5% lower than average, adding…
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Thailand News Today – Wednesday, April 29
Covid-19 update (Wednesday) 9 new cases, 0 new deaths Health officials at this morning’s national daily briefing announced 9 new Covid-19 cases in Thailand today, bringing the total to 2,957. No new deaths were reported and the tally remains at 54 since the beginning of the outbreak in January. 2,665 people have recovered and been discharged, making the recovery rate…
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Outgoing UN envoy claims Burmese military may be committing war crimes again
Neighbouring Myanmar’s military is committing atrocities which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the outgoing UN human rights envoy. Fighting between government troops and ethnic minority rebels has flared up again in the country’s Rakhine and Chin states. Burmese military spokesmen did not answer phone calls for comment with Reuters, nor did the official government…
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Thai Health Minister pushes ahead with ban on harmful pesticides
Taking a break from handing out face masks and berating “dirty farang”, Thailand’s Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirmed yesterday that the proposed ban on three hazardous pesticides will go ahead as scheduled on June 1. According to a Nation Thailand report, Minister Anutin refused to entertain proposals from both the Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit and the Chairman of the…
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300,000 methamphetamine pills found in Chiang Rai after smugglers flee
Around 5.30pm yesterday, 31 troops under the direction of Police Colonel Ratana Phatthanasophon, Division 31, were investigating the smuggling of drugs through the Thai-Myanmar border into Mae Fah Luang District, Chiang Rai Province. 5-6 people were reported walking around the area where the authorities were undergoing routine patrols in the surrounding area. Officials asked the “suspicious men” to stop. But…
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Suspect in fatal Bangkok shooting absconds with family
A man was shot dead in a fight between two neighbours yesterday in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district, apparently over excessive noise, and the alleged killer has reportedly fled with his family. Police were alerted to a shooting incident at a house on Ruammit Pattana Road at 7pm. At the scene they found the body of 37 year old Phatcharaphol Phomaneesak…
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Woman seriously injured after English husband allegedly throws her from balcony
A woman has been seriously injured in Rayong, eastern Thailand, after her English husband allegedly threw her from the balcony of their 8th floor condo yesterday afternoon. Thai Residents report that the 56 year old woman, named only as Sukunda, landed on a patio on the 7th floor of the building in the Ban Chang district. Officers from the local…
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Arrests in Chiang Mai for “sextortion”, child porn
A 20 year old Thai man has been charged with extortion after police in Chiang Mai province arrested him for posing as a woman to blackmail a university student online. Acting on a warrant, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division and the Internet Crimes Against Children task force arrested Natthawut Klinhom. Police say the victim, aged 19, filed a complaint against…
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Singapore robot patrols park with polite social distancing reminder
“Do not loiter at this park. Stay safe, stay home.” A robot, originally procured a year ago to monitor plants and reservoirs in Singapore, is being put to a different use in these strange new Covid-19 times. Boasting a 360 degree, high-definition camera and facial recognition sensors, the robot, known as O-R3, patrols Bedok Reservoir park, politely telling off anyone…
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Dodgy Chinese medical supplies rejected by many countries
Countries across Europe and around the world are rejecting substandard medical supplies from China as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to sweep parts of the globe and the death toll continues to climb. Germany, Belgium and Holland have joined the ranks of other nations, including Canada, Spain and Slovakia, complaining of unreliable test kits, inaccurate thermometers and shoddy Personal Protection Equipment.…
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