Thailand News
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Sponsored 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
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Dutchman jailed for 100 years in Thailand for money laundering is released
A Dutch citizen who was jailed for 100 years in Thailand, is now on his way home after years of campaigning for his release. His sentence was reduced to 75 years on appeal and later to 50 years by the Supreme court. Johan van Laarhoven, who ran several cannabis “coffee shops” in Holland, was jailed in Thailand for money laundering, along…
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Piyabutr acknowledges that Future Forward will probably be disbanded
Future Forward Party’s secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul is urging the party’s 60,000 members and other supporters to switch their allegiances to a new party that would be formed if Future Forward ends up being dissolved by the Constitutional Court this week. The hearing by the Constitutional Court is set for Tuesday. Piyabutr acknowledges that the party will likely be disbanded. Thailand’s Constitutional Court has…
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Thai political leader proposes legal brothels and sex shops
A controversial Thai MP is proposing licenced brothels and sex shops as a way of addressing the problem of sexual abuse in Thailand. Mongkolkit Suksintharanont, leader of the Thai Civilised Party and a member of the House committee studying ways to reduce rape and other sexual violations, commented in a Facebook post that he would raise the proposal with committee…
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Thai Airways’ pilot under investigation for botched landing at Frankfurt
A Thai Airways International pilot, flying for Thailand’s national flag carrier, is currently being investigated by Germany’s BFU (Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung), the country’s civil aviation investigators, for flying a Thai Airways plane below the standard altitude as the flight he was piloting, was approaching Frankfurt International Airport. The flight had originated in Phuket. The incident has been related through the…
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Thai teacher caught on video striking a student in Sa Kaew
A teacher in Thailand’s east has been caught on video flogging a student whilst screaming invectives at the young girl. The girl was struck at least three times, although the video appears to have started during the midst of the punishment. The video was posted on the Education For Liberation of Siam Facebook page. The school has been identified as…
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61 year old Chinese tourist being treated for new coronavirus in Thailand
A 61 year old Chinese tourist, found to be infected with the new strain of coronavirus dubbed “Wuhan or Chinese pneumonia” when she arrived in Thailand last week, is being treated in hospital and is expected to be discharged in a few days. This is from the Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. The woman is recovering at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases…
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First case of New Coronavirus Pneumonia detected arriving in Bangkok
A first case of ‘New Coronavirus Pneumonia’ has been identified in Thailand, but the Public Health Ministry is assuring the public there is no wider outbreak of the virus. The mystery virus has now been identified by Chinese scientists and was earlier nicknamed as the mystery Wuhan pneumonia. Anuthin Charnvirakul, the Thai Public Health Minister has informed the media that…
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New upper and lower highway speed limits to be introduced
Motorists using the right lane of any Thai highway or motorway, with more than four lanes of traffic, and drive slower than 90 kilometres per hour, will face charges in the future. A proposal to raise the speed limit to 120 kilometres per hour is also being considered. The new regulations are expected to be ready by next month. The…
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Court rejects Premchai’s request to remove electronic monitoring ankle bracelet
Premchai Karnasuta, the fallen business tycoon who was sentenced last year over a case of hunting and killing protected species in a Kanchanaburi national park, has been trying to get his electronic monitoring ankle bracelet removed by the court. But the Thong Phaphum provincial court today rejected Premchai’s application for the removal of his electronic ankle bracelet. The request was…
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Drought prompts Tesco Lotus to increase bottled water production
Tesco Lotus, the Thai division of Britain’s biggest retailer, is boosting bottled water production to help customers cope with drought. The chain says it will increase production of its own branded bottled water and also increase orders of other brands to sell at its branches nationwide, in response to this year’s drought and water shortages, which is predicted to be the…
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New survey shows Thai kids are subject to excessive levels of bullying
Thai students are suffering from high levels of bullying – physical, verbal and online. Two years ago a Department of Mental Health survey indicated that Thailand had the second highest rate of bullying in the world. The most recent survey shows things have not improved and remain alarming. 92% of Thai school kids have been exposed to physical or psychological abuse…
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Thailand’s top cop embroiled in the Surachat car-shooting case – Audio clip released
“Stay away from Big Joke shooting.” A leaked phone conversation reveals Thailand’s senior police chief instructing a deputy to distance himself from the Surachat drive-by shooting case. Former Immigration Chief Pol Lt Gen Surachat Hakparn’s white Lexus SUV was shot at eight times in a Patpong soi in Bangkok on Monday night. There was no one n the car at the…
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Cabinet threatens to open up fishing labour to migrant workers
Fisherman from 22 of Thailand’s 76 provinces are demanding the government solve the labour problem in the fisheries’ industry. The government, in turn, is threatening to invoke Article 83 of the Royal Ordinance on Fisheries, which would essentially allow immigrant labour in the sector. The relevant committee in the House proposes opening two registration periods for migrant workers, the first from…
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“Dr. Ganja” is helping promote medical marijuana in Thailand
The Thai health ministry has come up with a plush toy character to encourage children to better understand Thailand’s current stance on marijuana and cannabis, now championed by the Health Minister as a new agricultural industry in Thailand. Yes, that’s a photo of the Thai PM holding a toy Dr Ganja doll which will be used to promote marijuana and…
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Bank rolls over after security footage captures employee stealing money
Look up before you steal money in a bank. There’s probably going to be a security camera. A female bank employee has been caught red-handed stealing 10,000 baht of an elderly customer’s savings. CCTV at the bank shows the moment when the teller stole the elderly man’s savings. The daughter of the victim shared the video online for everyone to…
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Two out of three CEOs say the 2020 Thai economy will not improve – Survey
Many CEOs, based in Thailand, don’t expect Thailand’s economy to improve during 2020. Many surveyed cited global economic uncertainties, according to the “CEO Survey” of 100 individuals. The survey was conducted by Krungthep Thurakit newspaper a month ago. Around 68.4% of the respondents didn’t expect the economy to improve this year, while 31.6% were saying that the economy would fare…
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PM empowers embassy to evacuate Thais from Iran
The Thai PM, who also acts as the defence minister, has given Royal Thai Embassy officials in Iran the authority to evacuate Thai citizens if it becomes necessary due to rising tensions in the region. This follows the US airstrike that killed a revered Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last week. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs…
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PM tells Thais to “stop bickering” and “build the country”
PHOTO: VOA With his approval rating dropping and facing a parliamentary reprimand, and with a massive demonstration calling for his removal planned for January 12, Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is urging all Thais to put aside political differences and “stop bickering and spreading hatred.” “Make use of the mechanism of democracy to help build the country.” In an impromptu speech…
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Doctors, teachers and WHAT?#! Thai kids career choices 2020
PHOTO: Bangkok Prep The results of the 11th Children’s Dream Career Survey for 2020 are out. The annual survey is conducted by Adecco Group Thailand. 4,050 Thai children, aged 7 to 14 years from all parts of the country, were surveyed about their dream career. The top dream career for Thai kids is to become a doctor, followed by teacher. The…
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Nearly 2 million Thai travellers head overseas for new year break
Nearly 2 million Thais travelled internationally for this year’s New Year celebrations. That’s a 3.9% increase over the previous year. Thai overseas travellers totalled 1,944,220 people. And although up 3.9% on outbound traffic the year before, it was 2.2% below estimates. Domestic travel between provinces totalled 4,298,626 people. That was down 6.4% from last year and 8% below estimates. Finally, travel within…
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Thai PM will head new drought command centre
Cabinet is expected to approve the establishment of a special command centre along with associated budget to tackle Thailand’s looming drought; expected to be the worst in four decades. The hot season is now well underway and is expected to continue until mid April. Narumon Pinyosinwat, a government spokesperson, says the “command centre” will be headed by Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha…
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Opposition’s gains foreshadow more government conflict – Poll
A new survey by Super Poll shows support for the current administration (the Palang Pracharat-led coalition) at 34% and support for the opposition parties at 36.6%. Super Poll’s CEO Noppadon Kannika says that increasing popularity of the opposition could indicate a looming showdown. The poll indicates the number of “politically silent” government supporters has decreased significantly, from 56.1% in April to…
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Keeping Thailand’s taps from running dry
“There is no way that we can send enough water to supply all these farms.” It could be the worst seasonal drought for four decades according to the Office of National Water Resources. Speaking to the Bangkok Post, ONWR secretary-general Somkiat Prajamwong recalled that during the severe drought in 2015 (when Thailand was under military rule), soldiers were sent to protect…
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AOT sets up checkpoints to check passengers from Wuhan, China for virus
“Passengers with any suspicious symptoms detected during the initial screenings after landing will be quarantined for medical examinations.” Airports of Thailand says they are monitoring a the detection of some cases of viral pneumonia from Wuhan flights coming out of China. They say that six airports are now ready to cope with the situation by setting up international communicable diseases…
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Thailand charges towards an electric car future, with a few speed bumps
Thailand has the biggest automotive industry in Southeast Asia and the 12th largest in the world. Most of those coming out of Thai factories, well just about all really, are standard internal combustion engines with a few ‘hybrid’ models sprinkled in there as well. The hybrids include electric motors and charging systems which saves fuel and load on the petrol engines. But there…
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Thai water officials warn local authorities to get ready for shortages
The Office of the National Water Resources is warning that water stored in the country’s large and medium size dams is now dropping to the minimum useable level, urging measures from local agencies to ease the impact on the public. This warning goes out with another three months of dry season hanging over Thailand’s head. The annual ‘wet season’ kicks…
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Meteor shower with up to 120 meteors per hour on January 4 (tonight!)
It’s an exciting few weeks for locals looking up to the skies. Last week we had a partial solar eclipse across Thailand (most prominent in the south), and tonight (early Saturday morning) we will have a meteor shower. But you’ll need to get up early to watch it. Star gazers will be able to witness the new year’s first display of…
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This year’s new year road toll in Thailand 20% lower than last year
This year’s Thai New Year holiday road toll has dropped 20%, compared to the same 7 days last year. In fact it’s the lowest level since 2015. But 373 people still lost their life over the “seven days of danger”, that encompassed the new year traffic and days before and after, as people returned to work. The “seven days of…
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Thai PM on the defensive before the censure debate even begins
“A soothsayer is always a soothsayer, but that does not mean I am insulting their predictions. I respect opinions based on astrology.” Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is warning the opposition parties not to censure the performance of his previous administration (the NCPO) and to concentrate on the current government, which has been operating for nearly five months. He reminded critics…
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Starbucks Thailand introduces paper straws from next Monday
The Thai operators of Starbucks Coffee says it will provide paper straws to customers at all stores across Thailand starting next Monday, January 6. The announcement is most likely in response to the national mood to reduce usage of single-use plastic items although the local Starbucks franchise say the announcement has been in the pipeline for the past year. Starbucks…
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