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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 Why traders in Thailand are choosing EC Markets for gold and forex trading
Gold and forex trading have long been favourites among investors in Thailand, but why are so many traders now turning to EC Markets? The answer lies in a combination of tight spreads, ultra-fast execution, Thai baht (THB) deposit support, and...
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Nude homeless man throws himself in front of speeding lorry in suicide attempt
A naked homeless man threw himself in front of a speeding truck in Pattaya yesterday morning in what looks like a suicide attempt. The male victim sustained serious injuries after being hit by the lorry, while trying to cross a road in the Bang Lamung sub-district, Bang Lamung, Chon Buri. His name and age could not be identified by the…
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Transport Ministry expects 22 million travellers will pass through Thai airports in 2022
The Transport Minister, Saksayam Chidchob, says every airport in Thailand is ready to welcome more travellers entering from June 1. The Minister also set a target expecting 22 million travellers to enter this year. So far, the number has just clicked over the 1 million mark (mid-May). Yesterday, Saksayam visited Suvarnabhumi Airport for for an official before the changes to…
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Tangmo: 5 of 6 suspects charged with “recklessness causing death”
Prosecutors have ordered the indictment of 6 suspects in relation to the death of Thai actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharaveerapong, who drowned in the Chao Phraya river in February during a boat trip with her friends. All 5 people on board the boat have been charged with “recklessness causing death.” Yesterday, superintendent of Muang Nonthaburi Police Station reported that the prosecutors…
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Political activist tries to derail Chadchart’s Governor election victory
A political activist is trying to derail Chadchart Sittipunt’s Bangkok Governor election victory. The 56 year old politician claimed a landslide victory in the first gubernational election held in the city since 2013, winning almost 52% of the vote. But, following a complaint by Srisuwan Janya, the Election Commission has postponed the endorsement of the election result until this afternoon…
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Climate change activist smears cream on Mona Lisa painting at Louvre
A visitor to the Louvre Museum in Paris has attacked the world-famous Mona Lisa painting, having disguised himself as an elderly lady in a wheelchair. The man, believed to be a climate change activist, jumped out of the wheelchair and tried to smash the glass protecting the painting, according to a Reuters report. The painting was reportedly undamaged, but the…
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Patong woman drowns after pickup skids off treacherous road into lake
A 50-year-old Patong woman drowned after her pickup truck careered off a treacherous road and plunged into a lake in the Kathu district. Witnesses alerted police of the accident, opposite the GSM Duty Free Shop on Phra Phuket Kaew Road, at 6am on Sunday. The bystanders said the woman, driving a blue Ford Ranger pickup with Phuket plates, failed to…
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Thai Airways collaborates with Warner Bros to shoot ‘The Meg 2: The Trench’
Thai Airways has entered into an agreement with Warner Bros Discover – or WBD – to provide flights to support the production of ‘The Meg 2: The Trench,’ a sequel to the 2018 film ‘The Meg.’ The airline will provide direct flights from various locations around the world and take special care in transporting film production equipment. Thai Airways say…
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Chiang Mai bars, clubs prepare to re-open for business tomorrow
Chiang Mai’s bars and clubs have been waiting a long time, but finally, from tomorrow, they can once again welcome back customers. As the Covid-19 situation in Thailand continues to improve, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has given nightlife venues in the green and blue provinces the go-ahead to re-open for business. Those that have survived, that is. According…
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Police arrest Scottish man wanted since 2014 in Pattaya
Yesterday, Thai police arrested a 46 year old Scottish man in Pattaya who was convicted of possessing indecent images of children in May 2014. William Dempster fled the UK eight years ago before he could be sentenced and has been on the run in Thailand ever since. The Royal Thai Police, Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency worked together…
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Thai medical council refutes claim that private hospitals have foreign doctors on staff
Thai healthcare bosses have dismissed claims by some private hospitals that they have foreign doctors on staff to help with patient care and surgery. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Medical Council of Thailand says there is a limit on the number of foreign doctors allowed to practice in the kingdom. Addressing claims made by some private hospitals, the…
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PM Prayut insists no plans to drop face-mask requirement in Thailand
Thailand’s PM and Defense Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, insists that Thailand has no plans to drop the requirement to wear face-masks. The PM asked the spokesperson to emphasise this point to the residents saying wearing masks was still “a necessary behaviour”. Last week, the Permanent Secretary of the Public Health Ministry, Kiattiphum Wongrajit, said that the ministry proposed to adjust the…
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Thai government considers lowering Covid-19 alert to Level 2
As the overall pandemic situation continues to improve, the Thai health ministry is considering lowering the country’s Covid alert level to Level 2. Chakrarat Pittayawonganon from the Department of Disease Control says the alert could be reduced from Level 3, while keeping the focus on protecting high-risk groups and ensuring they have received booster vaccine doses. Thailand’s high-risk groups include…
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Demonstrators storm UN building to protest NPO law
Demonstrators swarmed around the United Nations Building to the Government House this morning to denounce a government bill on non-profit organizations. Hundreds of vociferous anti-NPO demonstrators avoided a number of barriers, including barbed wire on different sections of Ratchadamnoen Road leading to government house in Bangkok, but still managed to voice their opposition to a law that will affect the…
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Malaysia’s biggest ever Thai festival “Think Thailand” has begun
Malaysia is hosting the country’s biggest ever Thai festival, “Think Thailand,” for 12 days from May 29 – June 6 at Tropicana Gardens Mall in Damansara, Petaling Jaya. Attendees can shop for Thai products, watch cooking and martial arts demonstrations, sample Thai cuisine and observe cultural performances. “Think Thailand” will showcase a range of Thai brands and products at 50…
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Kasikornbank bank buys 67% of Indonesian bank, Bank Maspion
One of Thailand’s premier banks, Kasikornbank, has purchased majority shareholding in Indonesian bank, Bank Maspion, for US$220 million. The agreement should be completed by the end of the year, with Kbank owning 67.5% of Maspion shares. Two years ago, rival competitor Bangkok Bank splashed almost US$2.3 billion baht in an Indonesian bank, Bank Permata. Following a plan to spend US$20…
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12 people exposed to monkeypox at BKK show no signs of symptoms
Twelve travellers to Thailand are under watch after coming into close contact with a passenger who was later detected with monkeypox. But none of them have shown any signs of symptoms. The 12 people, a mix of passengers and flight attendants, were with the infected person for 2 hours in transit, after the traveller’s flight from Europe stopped at BKK…
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4 year old drowns in pool at Chon Buri villa
Yesterday, a 4 year old boy drowned in a swimming pool at a villa in Suthathip district in the eastern province of Chon Buri. Rescue workers from Rojanathamsathan Rescue Unit rushed to the scene at 8:30pm yesterday but sadly couldn’t save 4 year old Falah Senluang. Falah’s family told police they had travelled to the two-story villa from Samut Prakan…
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British man who murdered and chopped up Thai woman to be sentenced tomorrow
Tomorrow, the court will announce the fate of a British man who murdered and dismembered a Thai woman, stuffed her in a suitcase and dumped her body in the Mae Khlong River eight years ago. On November 6 2014, police discovered the body of 31 year old Laxami “Look” Manochat inside a suitcase dumped in the Mae Klong River in…
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Animal imports restricted until monkeypox measures implemented
The screening of wildlife imports has been made a priority in Thailand as cases of the monkeypox virus continues to increase throughout the world. The National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department today revealed they have introduced severe measures to closely monitor any wildlife entering the country in a bid to prevent monkeypox coming into Thailand. The government agency also…
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Chadchart’s commitment to purging the metropolis of corruption
Newly elected governor Chadchart Sittipunt revealed he plans to stamp out corruption as part of his flagship “Bangkok’s Nine Good” policy. Corruption in Thailand has been a national issue for decades. The kingdom is ranked 110th out of 180 countries evaluated in Transparency International‘s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index. The index examines public sector corruption, countries whose public sectors are perceived to be…
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Chon Buri gunman shoots 3 people “because he was slapped in the face”
A man shot three people, killing two and seriously injuring another in Ban Bueng district in the eastern province of Chon Buri on Saturday night. The gunman said he was drinking alone outside a convenience store when a group of men drinking around a nearby table criticised his personality. He said one of the men slapped him in the face,…
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Tara Air plane crashes in Nepal, 22 feared dead
The Nepali Army has found the wreckage of a Tara Air plane scattered on a mountainside in Nepal after it went missing over the Himalayan mountains yesterday morning. On board the plane were 4 Indian nationals, 2 Germans, 13 Nepali passengers and 3 Nepali crew members. The army hasn’t yet reported whether they have found any survivors. The 43 year…
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PM Prayut’s 3 trillion baht budget slammed ‘pointless’ by MFP leader
Opposition Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat has slammed PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s spending plans ahead of tomorrow’s budget bill as “pointless.” PM Prayut will defend the government’s 3.2-trillion-baht 2023 budget bill in a three-day House debate starting tomorrow, explain why the sum is so large and his spending plans for the fiscal year. But the MFP leader landed the first…
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Thai woman allegedly murdered in Oman after being thrown from 4th floor of condo
A Thai woman is claiming that her Omani husband murdered her Thai friend. She claims her friend was thrown from the 4th floor of a condominium in Oman after fighting with her husband. Last Friday, the Facebook user Pawarisa Oil posted a sympathy message to her friend, saying that her friend was thrown from a building in Oman. Pawarisa said…
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Victoria’s Secret gives laid off Thai garment workers $8.3 million in compensation
Lingerie company Victoria’s Secret has given a ‘wage theft’ payment of 8.3 million USD to 1,250 laid off Thai garment workers, who have been fighting for severance payments for over a year since their factory in Samut Prakan, central Thailand, went bankrupt and closed down in March 2021. Some workers received the equivalent of more than four years wages under…
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Covid-19 restrictions to ease in Shanghai as authorities seek to revive economy
Officials in Shanghai are continuing to ease Covid restrictions following a harsh lockdown that confined residents to their homes for 2 months. According to a Reuters report, the authorities in the global financial hub have removed restrictions that prevented many businesses from operating, with measures being brought in to revive the decimated economy. Last month, in the midst of the…
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Thai government expects 1 million tourists per month by the end of the year
The Thai government has refuted the opposition’s claim that it is ignoring the plight of the country’s tourism sector. According to a Nation Thailand report, spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana says the government’s decision to cancel Test & Go has revived the tourism industry, with around 20,000 foreign arrivals now entering the kingdom each day. Thanakorn adds that if this trend continues,…
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Health ministry advises at-risk groups to self-monitor for monkeypox infection
Health officials in Thailand say that while no cases of the monkeypox virus have been detected in the kingdom, at-risk groups should remain vigilant. The Department of Disease Control reports that a patient, with a suspected case of monkeypox, recently tested negative. DDC chief Dr Opas Karnkawinpong says the patient was found to be infected with the herpes simplex virus…
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After Songkhla storm, tree falls and kills man
Thailand’s monsoon season was fatal for one man in the southern province of Songkhla during the early hours of this morning. After a heavy rainstorm, a large tree crashed down on a house in Sadao district, crushing the man to death. The man is identified as 56 year old Chat, who worked as a driver for a temple. His house…
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Tensions flare once again in Israel-Palestine ahead of controversial march
Perhaps the most divisive, disputed conflict in the world is hot with tension once again, as Israel’s annual flag march is expected to take place today (Sunday). The march celebrates Israel’s capture of Jerusalem in 1967 after the ‘6 Day War’. The march is now heavily associated with Israel’s Right Wing, which has become the country’s dominant political force after…
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