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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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Record breaking amount of methamphetamine pills seized in Asia
More than one billion methamphetamine pills were seized in East and Southeast Asia last year, according to a report released by the United Nations. The illicit synthetic drug market is constantly evolving in East and southeast Asia, with every country in the region reporting methamphetamine as their drug of greatest concern, according to the UN. The UN’s report says most…
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Thai industry gets high on government’s green hemp policy
The controversial plan to use hemp in the Thai textile industry is part of the government’s green policy. Business plans are already underway by the Commerce Ministry to promote hemp fibre in the Thai textile arena as it offers high potential in the global market. Hemp and cannabis were classified as drugs under Category 5 the Narcotics Act of Thailand,…
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Phuket authorities close Covid-19 field hospital
In a grand ceremony yesterday, Phuket authorities closed up a field hospital set up for people who tested positive for Covid-19. The field hospital was at Phuket Rajabhat University in the island province’s main city district. The deputy director of the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office, Padungkiat Utokasenee, led the closing ceremony. Between August 2021 and March 2022, the field…
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Former Deputy Bangkok Governor says the city has already spent most of the 2022 budget
The Deputy Leader of the Democrat Party and former deputy Bangkok governor, Samart Ratchapolsitte (2004 – 2006), said Bangkok has only of 94 million baht left in its budget, and it might be insufficient for the new Bangkok governor Chandchart Sittiphun to achieve his announced policies. According to the media, Bangkok receives a budget of around 80 billion baht per…
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UPDATE: Woman falls from Phuket condo, 3 foreign suspects arrested
UPDATE: Police arrest 3 foreigners in relation to death of woman who fell from Phuket condo The woman who fell from the 8th floor of a condominium in Phuket and died yesterday morning has been identified as 37 year old Evgeniia Smirnova of Russian nationality. Police have arrested 3 foreigners who were staying in the same apartment with Evgeniia, inlcuding…
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Bangkok named one of the world’s worst cities for work-life balance
Bangkok is just barely above the bottom of a list of 100 cities across the globe ranked for their work-life balance. Thailand’s capital came in at 96th place on the list. The 4 cities in the world with a worse work-life balance than Bangkok are Sao Paolo, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, and Cape Town. On the flipside, the cities with the…
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4 Thai Police under investigation after sending woman to jail for growing 1 cannabis plant
Four Thai police officers from Sri Racha Police Station in Chon Buri have been sidelined from their present positions as senior police conduct an investigation. The 4 police arrested a woman who grew one cannabis plant at home and sent her to jail for a night. 56 year old Pornpimon Prakobpon was arrested at a rented house in the Sri…
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Man accidentally shoots himself in the mouth in northeast Thailand
A man has accidentally shot and killed himself while loading gunpowder into his cap gun at a rubber plantation in Roi Et province, northeast Thailand, yesterday evening. Police suspect he was holding the trigger end of the gun with his toes and blowing gunpowder into the barrel with his mouth when he must have accidentally pulled the trigger. The man’s…
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Pattaya City Mayor election to be re-held in some districts after ballot papers go missing
Chon Buri Provincial Election Commission has announced the cancellation of the Pattaya City mayor’s election result on May 22 because ballot papers had gone missing from polling stations in 2 sub-districts. The new election in those sub-districts will be held on June 12. After 10 years of suspension of mayoral elections, the Pattaya City Mayor election was held on May…
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Bangkok police arrest 6 Taiwanese nationals for crypto fraud
Police in Bangkok have arrested 6 Taiwanese men following a raid on a house in the Prawet district of the capital. The men are accused of conning over 500 people, mostly fellow Taiwanese or Chinese nationals, through fraudulent online cryptocurrency investment schemes. According to a Bangkok Post report, the arrests happened when officers from the Police Cyber Taskforce, accompanied by…
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Pork sashimi can kill you, warns Thailand’s Department of Health
A Japanese restaurant in Bangkok has raw pork on the menu, but Thailand’s Department of Health is begging people not to eat it. After a photo of the restaurant’s menu went viral on social media, eating “pork sashimi” became Thailand’s latest trend. But eating raw pork can actually kill you, warns the department. Raw pork contains harmful pathogens that are…
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Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand advises airlines of new entry rules effective today
International airlines have been issued with a notice from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, advising them of revised rules for entry to the kingdom from today. CAAT chief, Suttipong Kongpool, says all international airlines serving Thailand are required to screen and categorise passengers into 3 groups. The first group is the fully vaccinated passengers, who, if suspected of having…
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Proposal to develop Koh Tao, Samui, and Koh Phang Ngan as “entertainment islands”
Another day, another idea, as Thailand desperately tries to revive its decimated tourism sector and by extension, the economy. While things are looking up since entry restrictions were eased, suggestions for further improvement continue to circulate. One such proposal is to develop and market 3 islands in the Gulf of Thailand as an “entertainment cluster”. Tourism operators on Koh Samui,…
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Foreign arrivals in April show things are looking up for tourism, the economy
Things are looking up for the Thai economy, thanks to an increase in foreign and domestic tourism in April, according to the Bank of Thailand. The Bangkok Post also reports a year-on-year increase in consumer spending during the month of April. The easing of travel restrictions has brought more foreign tourists to the kingdom, with numbers up from 210,836 in…
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Elderly couple in central Thailand has their first wedding photos together
A freelance photographer has given one elderly couple in central Thailand’s Suphan Buri province their dream come true. The couple, 86 year old husband Wong and 85 year old wife Klin, have been together through thick and thin for over 65 years. But until a few weeks ago, they never had any cute ‘couple photos’ displaying their love. Then their…
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Pubs, clubs, entertainment venues re-open in Bangkok, 30 other provinces today
From today (or tonight), nightlife resumes in 31 “green zone” and “blue zone” provinces, including Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. Pubs, clubs, and other entertainment venues can once more welcome customers, although they must close by midnight. Other stipulations include a ban on crowds and alcohol promotions. In the capital, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has provided entertainment venues with the…
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ONESIAM skywalk features Universal Design concept to enhance convenience and accessibility
Press Release The ONESIAM elevated skywalk connecting to the Pathumwan Intersection was designed with the concept of Universal Design to cater to the urban lifestyles of the elderly, the disabled, and the general public. Today, it has become an iconic landmark that enhances the positive image and reinforces the symbol of “Universal Design City” for the good quality of life…
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AirAsia launched a “super-app” to compete with the likes of Grab
The popular low-cost Malaysian airline, AirAsia, debuted its “super app” for ride-hailing in Thailand today, which provides a variety of services ranging from car rides similar to Grab, and Bolt, to flight reservations and food ordering, in an already booming industry. There are currently 3,000 registered drivers in the Bangkok metropolis, with ambitions to recruit more as tourism slowly picks…
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More than 200 CCTV cameras installed at Koh Larn in Pattaya for public safety
More than 200 CCTV cameras have been installed at 7 beaches and “risk spots” at Koh Larn Island in Chon Buri to improve the safety of its residents and tourists. The Deputy Secretary Permanent of Pattaya, Kiattisak Siwongchai, today explained that the CCTV cameras, which will be fully operational next month, were installed to ensure the safety of its residents…
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Three woman caught smuggling heroin from Thailand into India
Three women were arrested at a hotel in Itarsi, India, with 200 million rupees’ – or 87.8 million baht’s – worth of heroin on Saturday. The women allegedly smuggled the heroin into the Indian city of Bengaluru from Thailand via an international airline, according to India’s Narcotics Control Bureau. The woman managed to get the heroin through both Thai and…
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BREAKING: Court sentences British man who murdered and chopped up Thai woman
UPDATE: Court sentences British man who murdered and chopped up Thai woman At 1:30pm this afternoon, Kanchanaburi Provincial Court sentenced Shane Kenneth Looker to 8 years in prison for murdering Laxami “Look” Manochat in 2014. The court ordered Shane to pay a total of 12.5 million baht to Look’s family. The court initially sentenced 51 year old Shane to 16…
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Thai man buys 12 pairs of Converse as offerings to god of wealth
A Thai man has bought 12 pairs of Converse sneakers and offered them to the god of wealth in the central province of Ang Thong after his wishes came true. Other locals are now copying the idea, helping the god have his own shoe collection. Yesterday, the media reported that they found a display case placed in front of the…
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Foreign woman falls from Phuket condominium in potential murder case
A foreign woman fell from the 8th floor of a condominium building in Patong, Phuket, and died in the early hours of this morning. Police are not ruling out murder because the woman was found clutching a clump of hair in her right hand. Her identity and nationality have not yet been confirmed. At 4:20am today, Patong Police Station received…
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Diesel price increase hits motorists in the pocket
Motorists were hit in the pocket once more as the price of diesel fuel increased today by 1 baht to 33 baht a litre. The latest price hike, decided by the Fuel Fund Executive Committee, will remain in place for around a week until the committee meet again on Monday to decide whether the price should be further increased. Director…
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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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Deputy PM insists using Thai numerals to keep “uniqueness”
Following a campaign on Change.org to remove Thai numbers from official documents, Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam said it was “an absurd controversial topic”. He insisted that Thai numbers might be complicated, but it is the way to maintain Thai uniqueness. Thai numerals are written in Thai script in formal documents, not the Arabic numerals used in many other countries. A Thai…
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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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