News
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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HRH Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand treated for irregular heartbeat
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand is resting after receiving hospital treatment for heart arrhythmia (abnormal heartbeat), according to a statement issued by the Bureau of the Royal Household yesterday. The 67 year old princess was admitted to King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital on November 22, 2022, where she received radiofrequency ablation treatment to treat her abnormal heartbeat.…
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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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Knifed in the neck for disrespecting mum
A cantankerous Rayong grandmother has worn out her welcome in her village and now her fed-up family and friends are conspiring to ship her off to a home. Ban Khai police were called to an address last week where they found Laemthong, aged 52, bleeding from a wound in his neck. According to the Bangkok Post, Kai Sawanmongkol, better known…
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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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Record number of Thai people travelling abroad
Most tourism discussions in Thailand centre around incoming international travellers to the kingdom. But Thai people are also travelling abroad in record numbers, the highest in three years. In the last quarter of 2022, an average of 28,000 Thai people are travelling outbound each day to other countries. That average has already climbed a bit in the first 20 days…
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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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Prayut to run for new party as PM
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is to run as the PM candidate for a new party in the next election. Prayut will be after another term under the banner of the Ruam Thai Sang Chart (RTSC) party, a move that could divide the pro-military and conservative bases in the next election. Prayut insisted that he has a close bond with the…
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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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Defying Thai beauty standards ft. Anchilee Scott-Kemmis | Thaiger Podcast Ep. 17
Meet Anchilee Scott-Kemmis, a Thai-Australian model and Miss Universe Thailand 2021 who defied Thai beauty standards and campaigned for what she believed in. By being a strong advocate for body positivity and diversity with her #RealSizeBeauty social movement, Anchilee became a big source of hope for many Thai women and young girls who have felt pressured by the existing beauty…
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Fireworks cancelled at Pattaya’s New Year event
Pattaya’s three-day New Year event from December 29-31 at Bali Hai Pier is still going ahead but there will be no fireworks at all this year, even on the countdown into the New Year. Concerts and street food stalls will be available to enjoy as normal. Facebook page Pattaya City Mayor Hotline (สายตรงนายกเมืองพัทยา) posted about the cancellation of the annual fire…
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UN urges Asian countries to save starving Rohingyas adrift at sea
The UN is calling on Asian countries to save almost 200 starving Rohingya refugees adrift at sea. The group of desperate Rohingyas has been adrift in the Indian ocean for the past month. The boat’s exact location is unclear. But as of Wednesday, the boat was near the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of…
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Monkey steals bag containing 50,000 Thai baht and throws it off a cliff
A trouble-making monkey in Srisaket province, northeast Thailand, stole a tourist’s tote bag and launched it off the side of a cliff yesterday after finding nothing edible inside it. A team of park rangers scaled down the cliffside to retrieve the bag, which contained 50,000 baht (US$1,438) in cash. Park rangers at Khao Phra Wihan National Park received a call from…
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Huge truck crushes young motorcyclist to death in Chon Buri
A huge truck tragically crushed a young motorcyclist to death in Chon Buri’s main city district yesterday. The incident happened on a road under a motorway in the Don Hua Lor sub-district. The victim, 20 year old Phatthames Sriraksa, who is originally from Sisaket province, had been driving home from work. Rescuers arrived on the scene to find Phattames’s body…
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Bangkok tops list of trending Airbnb destinations this year
Thailand’s capital topped a list of trending Airbnb destinations in 2022. Based on searches made in the first to third quarters of the year for check-ins, Bangkok was the #1 most trending destination for Airbnb guests across the globe. The entire list is as follows: Bangkok, Thailand Sydney, Australia Málaga, Spain Seoul, South Korea Melbourne, Australia Itapema, Brazil Angra dos…
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Malaysia or China? Thai court to decide if Teddy goes home
A Thai court is to decide on whether to extradite Malaysian businessman Teow Wooi Huat (“Teddy”) to Malaysia or China, after Malaysia filed an extradition request. Malaysia’s extradition request was heard by the Bangkok Criminal Court on Thursday. Wary of what might happen if his client is sent to China, Teow’s counsel Juti Suanraksa said the defence team would be…
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Village chief survives accidentally shooting himself while driving in central Thailand
Somehow, a village chief accidentally shot himself in the leg and hand while driving through Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province in central Thailand yesterday. He tried to drive himself to the hospital but ended up crashing into a temple. At 12.22am, officers from Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Police Station received a report of a car accident at Phra Si Sanphet…
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Thailand welcomes nearly 11 million tourists this year
Tourist arrivals in Thailand could hit the 11 million mark before the year is through, according to the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Yuthasak Supaporn. Between January 1 and December 20, Thailand welcomed 10.9 million tourists from around the world, the governor said this morning. With High Season in full swing, Yuthasak said he expects tourist arrivals…
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Charities and leaders treat Pattaya kids to Christmas party
Generous people in Pattaya are in the holiday spirit of giving. Local leaders and charities treated kids in Pattaya’s Khopai community to a Christmas party on Tuesday. Soi Khopai is located in the Bang Lamung district. The children got to eat yummy food, play games, and win prizes. Santa Clause made an appearance at the party, gifting children candy, toys,…
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Could Thailand’s Southeast Coastal Gem Khanom Be the Next Koh Samui?
The search for the next big resort destination in Thailand is an absolutely big ask. An expansive country with 77 provinces and an amazing array of diverse geographical locations, Instagram-worthy aspects, and distinctly different nuances. Out of this brazen travel chaos, the endearing term ‘same same, but different’ was born and remains highly relevant. Yet, one of the simple truths…
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Jealous Thai husband strangles wife and sleeps next to her body all night
A drunk Thai man strangled his wife and slept next to her dead body on Tuesday night in Udon Thani province in northeast Thailand. He said he didn’t know she was dead. At 10am on Wednesday, officers from Mueang Udon Thani Police Station were notified that a husband killed his wife at a construction workers’ residence in Kak Khaeng district.…
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Commerce experts predict Thailand’s consumer spending will hit 17 year high during New Year
Commerce experts predict that Thailand’s consumer spending will hit a 17 year high during the New Year period coming soon. The president of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) discussed the UTCC’s predictions at a conference on “Consumer behaviour and spending during the 2023 New Year Festival.” The president, Thanavath Phonvichai, said the period is expected to…
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Taxi driver killed in railway crossing crash in Bangkok, Thailand
A taxi drove through the barrier and was struck by a train at a railway crossing in Bangkok early this morning. The taxi driver was instantly killed in the crash. Officers at Thung Song Hung Police Station received a report early this morning of a train crashing into a public taxi at the railway crossing opposite the North Park Intersection in…
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Injured and detained journalists sentenced to three years plus labour in Myanmar jail
The Myanmar junta has reportedly sentenced two journalists to prison plus labour, along with seven anti-coup protesters. Myanmar Press Photo Agency journalists Ko Kaung Sett Lin and Ma Hmue Yadanar Khet Moh Moh Tun were arrested on December 5 after junta forces allegedly rammed a military vehicle into a peaceful flash-mob protest in Yangon’s Kyimyindaing Township. According to the Irrawaddy,…
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