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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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Burmese beauty queen arrested in Thailand
Former Burmese beauty queen, Han Lay was arrested in Thailand today. Han Lay, or Thaw Nandar Aung, winner of Miss Grand Myanmar in 2020, gave a speech against the Myanmar junta in the Miss Grand International 2020 final in Bangkok. The 23 year old talked about the political situation in Myanmar and how the people are suffering. She urged the…
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North Korea releases statement after being accused of selling Russia weapons
North Korea released a statement today after US officials said Russia was looking to buy weapons from North Korea. The statement claimed that North Korea had never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia, and did not plan to. It said that the United States and other “hostile forces” were spreading rumours to “pursue its base political and military aims.” Any…
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Motorcycle taxis & app-based riders fight over passengers
An ongoing row over passengers between motorcycle taxi riders and app-based riders erupted into a brawl on Sunday on Soi Ratchada 18 in Bangkok. One motorcycle taxi rider demanded that the app-based riders give them more respect and stop random pickups on the street when motorcycle taxi services are nearby. The first fight started last Sunday, September 18. One motorcycle taxi…
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Thai army saves man walking 1350 kilometres from Songkhla to Buriram
A man who lost his job in the southern province of Songkhla decided to walk back home to Buriram in northeast Thailand. After 12 days of walking on Sunday, the 42 year old man stumbled across an army barracks in Phatthalung province, the next province along. The soldiers took care of him and paid for his train ticket back to…
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Man steals watch & diamond ring at car accident scene
An opportunist thief was arrested today after pretending to help a driver involved in a car accident with a motorcycle rider before snatching a 6-million baht watch and a diamond ring from the scene. The driver of a Mercedes-Benz crashed into a motorcycle in front of the Poon Sub Market in the Mueng district of Pathum Thani in central Thailand…
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Pattaya’s major roads flooded
Many of Pattaya’s major roads were flooded by heavy rain last night. Some of the affected roads included South Pattaya Road, Soi Buakhao Road, Sukhumvit Road, and Beach Road. The roads were all underwater with levels ranging between 20 centimetres to 1 metre, The Pattaya News reported. Many popular alleyways were also flooded. The floodwaters stretched onto roadside venues, forcing…
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Thai navy buys pilotless aircraft from Israel for 4 billion baht
Thailand has signed a contract to buy Hermes 900 “unmanned aerial vehicles” (UAV) from an Israeli defence company, according to an announcement made today by the Royal Thai Navy (RTN). The purchase will cost 4 billion baht ($US107,003,360). The pilotless aircraft will patrol Thailand’s seas to “protect the sovereignty of Thailand’s waters and shipping routes.” The drones will also assist…
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Suspected Myanmar military businessman arrested in Thailand for drug trafficking
A Myanmar businessman, who is suspected of being linked to the country’s ruling military junta, has been arrested in Bangkok. According to Reuters, three unnamed sources supplied information about his connections to the junta, after police arrested him over drug trafficking. Thailand’s deputy police spokesperson Kissana Phathanacharoen, says they conducted an early morning raid in Bangkok last week, finding the…
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Rage in Iran after young woman dies in custody, protestors killed
Iran has been reeling ever since a young woman died after being arrested by the country’s “morality police” on September 13. The woman, 22 year old Mahsa Amini, was arrested while on holiday with her family, who had travelled to the capital of Tehran from their home in the Kurdistan region. Morality police arrested her for supposedly not wearing her…
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Rice fields in central Thailand to be used as water retention areas
The Office of National Water Resources announced yesterday that rice fields in central Thailand’s Chao Phraya will be made into temporary water retention areas after farmers finish harvesting them at the end of this month. The office’s secretary-general, Surasee Kittimthon, said that more water will be drained from northern Thailand via the Chao Phraya Dam in Chai Nat province in…
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Guard arrested on murder of woman he has a crush on
UPDATE The male security guard who stabbed a female colleague to death in Bangkok yesterday was arrested by police in Chon Buri today. Officers from Tung Mahamek Police Station cast their net far and wide for 57 year old Sing Jabairam who stabbed to death his 30 year old workmate, Anitta Yoosothana, in front of the Rajamangala University of Technology…
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Thailand’s repeat drink driving offenders will be jailed
New legislation in Thailand means that people caught drink driving more than once will go to jail. First time offenders could go to jail or get a fine. The harsher punishments are intended to act as a DUI deterrent to reduce the overall number of deaths on Thailand’s dangerous roads. Thailand’s roads are the deadliest in Southeast Asia and among…
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Chemical leak forces school closures in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
Residents of Nakhon Pathom province are warned to stay indoors as a major chemical leak occurred at the Indorama Polyester Industries factory in Nakhon Chai Si district at 6.15am this morning. People from miles around reported a “foul, burning stench” emanating through the sky, originating from the plastic production factory on Petchkasem Road in Khun Kaew subdistrict. Several schools including…
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New plans to expand Bangkok’s nightlife tourism
New plans are underway to help expand Bangkok’s nightlife tourism. Bangkok Governor Chadchar Sittipunt said yesterday that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is talking to experts about decorating some areas so they can become attractions. These are mainly spots in downtown areas and riverside zones, he said. Chadchart has also announced a plan for Bangkok to become a sister city of…
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Siblings arrested on 3.5 million baht theft in Chon Buri
UPDATE The woman victim of a 3.5 million baht robbery outside a bank in Chon Buri has been arrested and charged in connection with the case. Police have charged the woman, Prapaporn Boonmesanom, with planning the robbery with her delivery driver brother because she has huge debts. The 29 year old Prapaporn is the finance officer of a furniture factory…
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VIDEO: Man breaks into ex-wife’s home and kidnaps her in central Thailand
A bitter Thai man broke into his ex-wife’s home in Nakhon Pathom province and kidnapped her on Tuesday night. The woman’s home security camera captured the terrifying moment he smashed his way into the house, locked his arms around her neck and dragged her outside. She says it is the second time her ex-husband has kidnapped her. At 10.25pm, Jeerawat…
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Police lieutenant in NE Thailand reportedly kills motorcyclist in crash
Last night, a police lieutenant in northeast Thailand reportedly crashed into five motorcycles and killed one motorcyclist. CCTV footage caught the lieutenant ramming his truck into the motorcycles waiting for a traffic light at a traffic island in Buriram province. The motorcyclist killed was a 25 year old waiting to make a U-turn. After the crash, the lieutenant’s pickup truck…
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Weakening baht is in focus as meeting called to discuss its impact
The Bank of Thailand is scrambling to find the sources behind the weakening baht as a meeting is called to discuss its impact. Finance Minister, Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, says the depreciating currency is adding to the inflationary pressures and is vowing to determine whether the decline is linked to the country’s economic fundaments. The Finance Ministry is set to hold talks…
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Paragliding accident in Rawai puts 78 year old man in hospital
At the Khao Dang View Point in the Phuket district of Rawai, a paragliding accident left a 78 year old man seriously injured. The incident took place near Naiharn Beach at a spot also called Windmill Viewpoint late in the afternoon on Monday. Officials have not released many details about the victim, only saying it was a 78 year old…
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Fight between teens leads to stabbing in NE Thailand
There was a knife attack involving groups of teenage boys in Thailand’s northeast province of Khon Kaen last night. Students in Grade 9 from the Mathayom Suksa school stabbed three Grade 11 boys at the school in their abdomens and lungs. The attack happened outside the school in the Nam Phong district. One of the injured boys, Narongrit, told police…
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Drug cartel in southern Thailand allegedly kidnaps Malaysian woman over drug feud
Thai police are assisting Malaysian police in their search for a cosmetics agent who was abducted from her home in Tumpat in Kelantan state in Malaysia last week. Thai police believe she was smuggled across the border into southern Thailand where she is being held captive, according to a spokesperson. The New Straits Times reports that four men in a…
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Security guard stabs woman who spurned his advances
A security guard was stabbed to death by her colleague today after she spurned his advances at Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep in the Sathon district of Bangkok. The pair’s work colleagues revealed that the alleged murderer fell in love with the victim but she rejected him. The rescue team tried to save the 30 year old Anitta Yoosothana, who…
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TAT expects Phuket Vegetarian Festival to make over 3 billion baht
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says it expects Phuket’s upcoming annual vegetarian festival to rake in more than 3 billion baht of visitor money this year. The festival will be held from September 26 to October 4. Some 81,429 travellers on 506 international flights are due to visit Phuket during the festival. Meanwhile, 110,165 domestic travellers are due to…
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Thai Buddhists ask 7-Eleven stores to separate halal labels
A non-profit organization requested 7-Eleven convenience stores in Thailand to provide a special shelf for products without halal labels. The group said halal labels made goods more expensive. Yesterday, Thai Buddhists from Buddhism Protection for Peace (BPP) gathered in front of CP Tower on Silom Road in Bangkok to hand over a letter about halal labels to the executive board…
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Russian man killed in Phuket motorbike crash
A Russian man has been killed after crashing his motorbike into a minivan in Phuket’s resort town of Karon yesterday. Rescuers arrived at the scene on the Karon–Patong Road to find the unconscious man lying on the road and heavily bleeding from his head. The rescuers rushed him to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead. They have not…
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VIDEO: Taxi drivers fistfight in front of customers at Phuket shop
Several minivan taxi drivers got into a fistfight over customers outside Khun Mae Ju, a popular souvenir shop in Phuket. One man struck another in the head with an axe, and it was all caught on video. The video clip went viral on social media after people inside the shops filmed the taxi drivers exchanging punches and kicks through the…
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Thailand’s drugs operation with Korea hailed a success
Thailand hailed the success of a joint operation with Korea to stamp out drug trafficking between the two nations after their counterparts revealed they had collected a large supply of narcotics. This is the first time the Thai nation has sent agents to foreign shores to take part in such a joint operation. The Korea Customs Service (KSC) sent a team…
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Malaysia launches new cheaper, easier digital nomad visa
Hot on the heels of Thailand’s grab at attracting long-term residents through their new LTR visa, Malaysia has released a digital nomad visa option that appears to be far cheaper and easier to qualify for. The De Rantau Programme will go live on October 1 and will offer a 12-month digital nomad pass. The website states the goal is to…
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SE Asia’s traffickers targeting the young and tech savvy
Southeast Asia’s traffickers are targeting young and tech-savvy people to lure them into their devastating scams. The traffickers make adverts promising easy work and cushy benefits, drawing in thousands of young, educated victims. When the victims arrive at their destinations they are held captive and forced to work in online scam centres known as “fraud factories.” These include love scams,…
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2 Vietnamese pickpockets arrested in Bangkok
Two Vietnamese pickpockets were arrested after stealing money and credit cards from a Singaporean tourist at the Erawan Shrine near CentralWorld shopping mall in Bangkok. They deny the allegations. The Commissioner-general of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, Samran Nuanma, gave an update on the development of the pickpocket case at a press conference yesterday. Samran made public that three Vietnamese pickpockets…
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