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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 Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Pattaya’s New Year’s Eve fireworks extravaganza is back on!
Pattaya reversed its decision to cancel a three-day new year fireworks event at Bali Hai Pier. The city Mayor Poramet Ngampichet confirmed the fireworks extravaganza will now go ahead. Pattaya last week cancelled the New Year’s Eve fireworks event, which was scheduled to take place from Thursday, December 29 to Saturday, December 31 without providing any specific reasons. Thai netizens…
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Fireworks and sky lanterns still illegal in Phuket
Officials in Phuket have issued another reminder to the public that releasing fireworks and sky lanterns in public areas is illegal. The warning put out yesterday is a reminder of a rule passed earlier this year on May 6 that called for a crackdown on all illegal fireworks. Phuket Vice Governor Anupap Rodkwan Yodrambam made that original proclamation on behalf of…
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Thai man fakes his own death in unique marriage proposal
Love filled the emergency room at a hospital in Chachoengsao province in eastern Thailand on Christmas Day as a dead body came back to life as part of an elaborate marriage proposal. During his lunch break on Sunday, rescue service volunteer Thammathat “Khao Oat” Saekhow lay on a stretcher under a white cloth and was wheeled from an ambulance into…
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Thailand offers free entry to museums and parks during new year holiday
Indulge in Thailand’s history, art, and culture for free this new year’s holiday. As a holiday gift to the public, Thailand’s Fine Arts Department is opening all national museums and historical sites in the kingdom for free between December 30, 2022, to January 2, 2023. In a new exhibition opening on December 30, centuries-old gold jewellery from the ancient Ayutthaya…
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Bangkok court grants bail to Tuhao’s wife for 2 million baht
Southern Bangkok Criminal Court granted bail to Pol. Col. Wanthanaree Kornchayanan – the wife of Chinese gangster Tuhao – for securities of 2 million baht this afternoon. Yannawa Police arrested and detained Wanthanaree and nine others yesterday on transnational drug and money laundering charges. The court does not usually grant bail to those accused on such serious charges in case…
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Phuket remembers anniversary of Indian Ocean Tsunami
Today marks the anniversary of one of the deadliest natural disasters ever to befall mankind. The Indian Ocean Tsunami, also known as The Boxing Day Tsunami, struck Phuket and the surrounding areas at 10am on December 26, 2004. In the province and neighbouring provinces, religious ceremonies were held today to mark the 18th anniversary of the deadly tsunami. Religious ceremonies…
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Corpse wearing Royal Thai Navy shirt is a fisherman, not a HTMS Sukhothai sailor
The dead man wearing a Royal Thai Navy shirt found washed up on a beach in Songkhla province this morning was a fisherman and not a sailor from the HTMS Sukhothai, which sank in the Gulf of Thailand just over a week ago. Many thought the man may be one of the 11 HTMS Sukhothai sailors still missing. However, a…
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Thaiger Cage hospitality digital pitch event to debut at Thailand Tourism Forum 2023
BANGKOK, THAILAND Leading Thai digital media outlet The Thaiger is launching a new start-up technology pitch event ‘The Thaiger Cage’ on 16th January 2023 at the Conrad Bangkok. It is a special prequel to the Thailand Tourism Forum (TTF) 2023, now in its twelfth year and widely considered to be the country’s leading annual hospitality event The special one-hour pre-event…
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Hongkongers to pay 4.5 baht for plastic bags
Hongkongers are to pay HK$1 (4.5 baht, US$0.13) for each plastic bag at supermarkets from next week, according to the South China Morning Post. It’s the first increase in 13 years. Hongkongers will pay for plastic bags for chilled or frozen items, but not for takeaway food or loose fresh goods. All operators, including major chains such as ParknShop and…
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Pope calls for peace in Ukraine, Russians support Putin
The head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, gave his traditional Christmas Day address in St Peter’s Square, Vatican City, Rome, which was broadcast throughout the world. The Pope used the opportunity to urge an end to the “senseless” war in Ukraine. Calling for peace is a standard message in the Pope’s Christmas address. This year he gave his address…
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Christmas Eve raid finds 40 underage pub patrons drinking
Many children eagerly await a visit from Old Saint Nick on Christmas Eve. They hang their stockings and set out cookies and milk for Santa Claus. But for one club in Sisaket province, and its underage patrons, without a chimney for Santa to come down, they instead got a late-night Christmas Eve visit from someone a bit less welcome. Police…
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Golden gunmen set to repel crime wave in Thailand’s Wild West
In the lawless shopping malls of Mae Sot – Thailand’s Dodge City – golden gunmen are set to a repel crime wave. Gold shop owners in the western border province are being given firearms training, as an epidemic of armed robberies grips the Thai side of the frontier with Myanmar. Three gold shops in the province have been held up…
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Foreign man fornicates with Thai woman on Pattaya street ‘for 30 minutes’
A foreign tourist and a Thai woman were spotted fornicating against an electricity pole near a busy intersection in Pattaya “for 30 minutes” early this morning. At 4am, reporters received explicit video evidence of a foreign man and a Thai woman having sex on the roadside in central Pattaya’s Bang Lamung district in Chon Buri province. Locals are urging police…
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Meteorological Department head, corruption, blamed for navy ship sinking
In the wake of the devastating navy ship sinking last month, someone needs to take the blame. Yesterday, the Pheu Thai Party declared that the person accountable for the tragedy of the HTMS 442 Sukhothai is the weatherman. The director-general of the Meteorological Department of Thailand is being blamed for not providing a more accurate report of the dangerous weather.…
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Body of tattooed man wearing Royal Thai Navy shirt washes up in southern Thailand
The body of an unidentified man wearing a Royal Thai Navy shirt washed up on a beach in Songkhla province in southern Thailand early this morning, reports KhaoSod. It is not yet confirmed whether the man is one of 11 sailors still missing from the HTMS Sukhothai, which sank off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan province just over one…
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Death toll of sunken Thai navy ship rises to 18, 11 sailors missing
The Royal Thai Navy recovered the bodies of three more missing HTMS Sukhothai sailors from the Gulf of Thailand yesterday, December 25, bringing the total death toll from the tragedy to 18, according to a navy spokesperson. Of the 105 crew members aboard the warship when it sank over a week ago, 76 have been rescued, 18 died and 11…
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British man falls from waterfall cliff on Koh Samui
In Koh Samui, a British man was rescued after slipping from a dangerous waterfall. The man was part of a group of eight international tourists who were holidaying on the island of Koh Samui. They had climbed to the top of Na Muang Waterfall despite warnings not to when the man fell off the cliff. The group of hikers said…
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Police ordered not to name nationalities, arrest Swedish man with gun and meth
The Royal Thai police have given foreign troublemakers a bit of a Christmas gift. In an order put out late on Christmas Eve, the RTP told all provincial police bureaus to no longer release to the media the nationality of any foreigner arrested in Thailand. A spokesperson for the Royal Thai Police said that people accused of a crime in…
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Tasteless Thai food humbled by American culinary excellence
Thai food was humbled by American when TasteAtlas announced their top 50 best cuisines from around the world, and almost everyone was offended. While some obvious countries made it into the top spots, not everyone agreed with the breakdown. Taking the top three spots were Italy, Greece and Spain, who were joined by the likes of Japan, India, Mexico and…
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Road accidents involving motor bikes on the rise in Phuket
As we head into what has become known in Thailand as the “Seven Days of Danger” – the holiday period from December 24 to January 4 that always sees an increase in road deaths – a new report initiative is shedding light on an increase in motorbike accidents in Phuket. The Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation has begun releasing a report…
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Backpack found on Koh Tao from sailor on HTMS Sukhothai
As search and rescue efforts enter their seventh day after the wreck of the HTMS Sukhothai, a tourist on Koh Tao found a grim relic of the tragedy. A Norwegian tourist on holiday on the tiny island in the Gulf of Thailand stumbled upon a backpack on the beach belonging to one of the missing sailors from the shipwreck. The…
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Dern Rim Lay Festival on Kata Beach today
Phuket is celebrating the holiday with the launch of a number of Christmas and New Year’s events, starting with the Dern Rim Lay @ Kata Festival. The festival began yesterday and continues now in Karon on Kata Beach. Street stalls line the beach and around 150 vendors are offering food and shopping to the thousands of locals, residents, expats, and…
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Grease is the Word: Brighton College Student Musical Extravaganza!
Brighton College is proud to present a spectacular musical performance based on the iconic Grease movie! attended by students from Year 7 to Year 13, performing classic songs and iconic dance moves from the movie, plenty of energy and enthusiasm, so make sure you don’t miss out on this amazing show!
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Taiwan to ration paracetamol after bulk-buying for China
Authorities are debating whether Taiwan will ration paracetamol, as the Covid situation across the strait deteriorates and concern grows following Taiwan’s reopening for travel. Taiwan may impose buying limits on all kinds of painkillers as people buy up local supplies to ship them to China where the pandemic has put a strain on supplies. Hsueh Jui-yuan, Taiwan’s minister of health…
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Tesco slavery case – Thai police raid ‘sweatshop’
Thai police have raided the former Tesco supplier at centre of a slavery claims by Burmese workers. The VK Garment (VKG) factory in Mae Sot is subject of a UK lawsuit against the supermarket chain from 130 ex-workers who claim they were trafficked, raped and abused. Thai police and labour officials inspected conditions and interviewed employees at the factory over…
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Air pollution at unsafe levels in Bangkok
Bangkok residents should pay close attention to the air-quality in their vicinity and protect themselves, according to Bangkok Environment Department. The capital’s air quality is invariably appalling at this time of year, due to still air and is expected to remain unsafe over the weekend. The deteriorating air quality is attributed to a cold front from China and only weak breezes.…
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No official plans to cancel countdown parties
The government of Thailand has not officially cancelled any New Year celebrations, the Tourism Authority of Thailand informed. The TAT said all New Year’s countdown events can operate as planned, though some provinces and areas have chosen to scale back their parties. Perhaps most notably, the chief of the Khao San Road Business Association has announced a cancellation of the…
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Codeshare deal between Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways
A strategic partnership expansion was just signed between Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways. The two airlines have had a partnership for years, as both are members of the Star Alliance network, but the new deal will allow them to codeshare more flights to offer each of their customers more variety when travelling in Southeast Asia and the world. Codesharing is…
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A Christmas tradition: Santa elephants at school
In central Thailand, school children were thrilled with a visit from a very Thai version of Santa Claus. The school kids were thrilled as the group of elephant trainers dressed as Santa led their elephants to greet the children and distribute Christmas gifts yesterday. The uniquely Thai experience saw nearly 2,000 children receive presents of toys, dolls, balloons, and candies,…
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International tourism 2022: 11.5 million foreign arrivals
The Tourism Authority of Thailand says that, now that they’ve blown past their 2022 target of 10 million international travellers, they are now predicting 11.5 million by the end of the year. This is 15% above their projections which seemed overly hopeful earlier in the year. From the beginning of the year through December 20, 10.9 million foreign tourists have…
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