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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 Digital nomading in Chiang Mai? What US$1,000 a month really gets you
Chiang Mai has become a popular destination for digital nomads due to its low living costs, rich culture, and active remote work community. The city offers affordable housing, tasty food, reliable internet, and many co-working spaces, making it a great...
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Cyclist unable to take steep hill plunges to his death in Chiang Mai ravine
A cyclist riding in Chiang Mai, a northern Thai province, was unable to steer his bike down a downhill road yesterday morning and plummeted about 30 metres down a ravine to his death. Police learned of the incident, which occurred on a steep section of the Mae Rim-Mae Sai tourist road in front of the Pongyang Jungle Coaster & Zipline…
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Thursday Covid Update: 13,256 new cases; provincial totals
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 131 coronavirus-related deaths and 13,256 new Covid-19 cases today. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 13,829 recoveries. There are now 128,367 patients being treated for Covid-19. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 1,524,613 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 15,884 coronavirus-related fatalities. The…
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Pattaya Man goes looking for food, later found dead in graveyard
A man went looking for food and was later found dead in a Pattaya graveyard earlier this week. The 35-year-old man’s family says he wasn’t suffering from any illnesses prior to his death. Nongrue Police were alerted to the above-ground corpse residing at the new graveyard, which was built by the Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Foundation. The police and local news…
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Minor Phuket entry revision: Covid-19 test within 7 days, not 3
The good news is, Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew announced that restrictions and on entering Phuket will ease on October 1. The bad news is, this hasn’t been officially enacted yet and the actual changes to restrictions are extremely minimal. According to the announcement by the governor, a meeting yesterday of the Phuket Communicable Disease Committee has decided on the following overhaul: instead…
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Reopening Pattaya: Will it happen next week or not?
Depending on which government officials you are listening to and what statement they make on which day, it would be easy to believe that Thailand’s reopening is continuing on October 1, or October 15, or possibly November 1. And Pattaya is perhaps reopening in just over a week or perhaps delaying for weeks or months. So where does the reopening…
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5 police kiosks set on fire in Bangkok, no injuries reported
At least 5 police kiosks were set ablaze early this morning in Bangkok. The Metropolitan Police have opened an investigation to determine the cause of the fires. Police discovered the kiosks had been set on fire sometime during last night’s curfew. The Central Police Forensic Division sent teams to the various kiosks, which had already had their fires put out…
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Pattaya restaurant busted selling alcohol, 15 arrested
15 people were arrested at a restaurant in Bang Lamung, accused of drinking illegally in violation of Covid-19 restrictions in Pattaya. Last night, Pattaya City Police raided an unnamed restaurant in Jomtien that was suspected of selling alcohol. Officers arrived at the restaurant early in the evening to discover 9 foreigners and 5 Thai nationals plus the person running the…
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Decision on Hua Hin Hospital “dual pricing” case set for next week
Next week, Thai authorities will announce the outcome of the highly anticipated “dual pricing” case where a Dutch expat claims he was overcharged for his cancer treatment at Hua Hin Hospital. Erwin Buse, who filed the anti-discrimination suit two years ago, told ASEAN Now that the case was officially handed over to judges this week and a decision on the case…
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Phuket Covid-19: 1 new death, hospital occupancy rates fell
With over 200 people being released from Covid-19 medical care in Phuket and 76 hospital beds freed up, the hospital occupancy rates fell to just over 82%, down from a peak around 90%. Today saw 239 new infections, a slight drop from yesterday, and one new death. The death was of a 47 year old man who smoked. He had…
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Pattaya tourism focusing on Russian and Indian travellers
Chinese travellers have been the bread-and-butter for Pattaya tourism, but with Covid-19 restrictions, The Pattaya Business and Tourism Association is focusing on Indian and Russian tourists instead for the planned reopening on October 1. The president of the PBTA had announced that while other cities and provinces have postponed reopening plans, Pattaya stands ready to reopen to international travellers in…
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Amended communicable disease law includes powers to retain curfew, order lockdowns
As the government prepares to debate the future of the emergency decree, set to expire next Thursday, a new legal amendment means some of its powers could remain. The Bangkok Post reports that the amended Communicable Disease Act gives officials the power to retain the current curfew and to impose new lockdowns. The government says the law will be used…
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Police suddenly began raiding Patong bars selling alcohol
While it’s been illegal for bars to open in Thailand and the selling or consumption of alcohol in public is forbidden, police have been looking the other way as patrons sneak beers in bars in Patong, the famous entertainment and nightlife district in Phuket. But after over a month of this occurring under the radar, police have begun raiding and…
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Thursday Covid Update: 131 deaths and 13,256 new cases
Today, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation reported 13,256 new Covid-19 cases and 131 deaths. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, the CCSA has reported 1,495,750 Covid-19 infections. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 13,829 recoveries. There are now 128,367 patients being treated for Covid-19. Out of the new cases,…
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AfricaLink on Air – 22 September 2021
South Sudan President Salva Kiir mulls retiring+++Namibia’s parliament debates reconciliation agreement with Germany+++Liberians coping with floods SOURCE: DW News
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Haitian migrants at US border keep hoping
A pale yellow building next to a dusty football field in the border town of Del Rio in Texas represents hope for migrants wanting to come to the US. Those who have made it here have crossed the river and the border, and, for the moment at least, have left behind some of their uncertainty. Migrants holding brown paper envelopes…
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How has COVID impacted Pakistan’s education system?
Last week, Pakistan opened both public and private schools in various districts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with Sindh province opening its schools in August. Schools are now operating with a 50% attendance policy on alternating days due to the COVID regulations set forth by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC). Vaccinations were also made mandatory for all staff…
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World in Progress: The men experiencing domestic violence
Reporter/Presenter: Andreas Boueke/Connor Dillon SOURCE: DW News
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World in Progress: Daring to speak up
SOURCE: DW News
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Interview: Tackling tricky topics at Berlin’s Human Rights Film Festival
For more on the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin, go to: https://www.humanrightsfilmfestivalberlin.de/de SOURCE: DW News
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The men experiencing domestic violence
Reporter/Presenter: Andreas Boueke/Connor Dillon SOURCE: DW News
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5 billion baht loss as birds’ nest producing swiftlets found dead
Phatthalung authorities have requested help from the Department of Special Investigation to investigate the death of birds. These were no ordinary birds though; they were swiftlets, the birds that produce the saliva that make birds’ nest, prized as a health delicacy. And it wasn’t a few birds, it was over a million birds found dead in caves where Siamnest company…
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Ex-cop “Joe Ferrari,” other officers charged with violating discipline policy over suspect’s death
Along with criminal charges for allegedly suffocating a suspect to death in an attempt to extort 2 million baht, the former police station chief in Nakhon Sawan, Thitisan Utthanaphon, and six of his subordinates now face charges for committing disciplinary offenses while on duty. The Police Serious Disciplinary Review Board filed the complaint against the seven officers. According to Nation Thailand,…
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5 Pattani men arrested for allegedly posing as police officers to extort locals
5 men who were posing as police officers in southern Thailand’s Pattani province were arrested yesterday. The suspects allegedly extorted drug-taking residents or teenagers out of money or property. The Yaring police were alerted that men were portraying themselves as members of the Yaring police at a village in the Laem Pho Subdistrict. The Nation Thailand says the men dressed…
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HOMA is now offering fully-serviced, affordable lifestyle apartments in Phuket Town.
Sponsored Phuket is Thailand’s most iconic tourist destination as it offers stunning beaches and surrounding islands. Thus, it is also known to feature a large expat community as many have decided to make it their home. The island is located among the crystal-clear waters of the Andaman Sea, where outdoor enthusiasts thrive. Moreover, Phuket offers some amazing shopping malls, world-famous…
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Thai woman tricked into human trafficking in Dubai brought home safely
A Thai woman who had been tricked into being a sex worker in Dubai, a city on the Persian Gulf Coast of the United Arab Emirates, returned safely to Thailand, today. The woman was able to send a video message through Facebook on Sunday where she pleaded for help. She says she had been deceived by an advertisement looking for…
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Nambia: A timeline of Germany’s brutal colonial history
1840s: Missionaries from the German-based Rhenish Missionary Society arrive in what is now called Namibia. 1883: Adolf Lüderitz, one of Germany’s first prominent colonialists, signs an agreement with Chief Joseph Frederick of Bethanie in what is now southern Namibia. The treaty gives the German businessman rights to the area around a strategic natural harbor called Angra Pequena, which he renames…
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Alleged cable thief busted in Phuket, accomplice possibly still at large
A Phuket man was arrested recently after he allegedly stole telephone and communications cables throughout the island. The man allegedly sold the cables for scrap near his house in Phang Nga. Wichit police and members of the Crime Suppression Region 5 and officials from the TOT company showed up at Chaturong Bhumlamnao’s house to arrest him. The TOT had previously…
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Wednesday Covid Update: 11,252 new cases; provincial totals
141 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 15,753 with 15,659 of those fatalities during the recent wave, which was first recorded on April 1. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA reported 11,252 new Covid-19 cases and 13,695 recoveries. There are now 129,071…
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Kanchanaburi temple that served as a rehab closes amidst shocking abuse allegations
A Thai temple in western Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province, “Wat Tha Phu Rat Bamrung” also known as “Wat Tha Phu”, which also serves as drug rehab, has been ordered closed following allegations of ransom, torture, and the abuse of human rights. Due to the startling allegations, the temple is being investigated by the Narcotics Control Board and the Public Health Ministry.…
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Post-Covid condition MIS-C afflicted 30 to 40 children, 1 death
A post-Covid-19 condition called MIS-C has affected 30 to 40 Thai children and may have caused the death of one youth. The condition, multiple-system inflammatory syndrome in children, can affect children and teens who had been affected and then recovered from Covid-19. The president of the Royal College of Paediatricians of Thailand explained that the condition is fairly rare but…
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